


lips on lips

by hakuwu



Category: (여자)아이들 | (G)I-DLE
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/F, First Kiss, Fluff, Girls Kissing, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2021-03-09
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:28:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28380027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hakuwu/pseuds/hakuwu
Summary: Wherein Soojin got dared to kiss a random student for fun. Unfortunately, that student happens to be a member of the academy's student council, Yeh Shuhua.
Relationships: Cho Miyeon/Minnie Nicha Yontararak, Jeon Soyeon/Song Yuqi, Seo Soojin/Yeh Shuhua
Comments: 128
Kudos: 473





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first story so please go easy on me T_T I hope you enjoy reading this story as much as I enjoy writing it~

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kiss.

Soojin strutted through the hallway, her hips popping side to side on the beat of her black block-heeled boots. She flicked her blonde locks off her shoulder, her loose collars revealing quite a view of her collarbones.

Soojin looked around and saw multiple pairs of eyes latched on her. Most were whispering as they eyed the blonde, a few gave her flirty smiles and whistles, and the rest just shamelessly ogling.

With all the attention fueling her mischief, she decided to have a little fun. She doesn't mind a little something to spice up the morning.

Oh, she definitely doesn't mind at all.

Soojin locked her gaze on one random boy and shot a deadly wink just before she strides past him. She smirked as she heard panic whispers coming from the very same direction, following with what it seemed like victorious stomps on the tiled ground.

If needed to describe with one word, Soojin was... well, _hot_. With her luscious blonde hair, iconic red lipstick, barely covered tattoos, a skirt pulled up a bit higher than academically supervised, and every other rule-breaking detail of her, you can't deny that she's the perfect sculpture of a whole hot mess.

After passing through the fussy hall and into the cafeteria, she spotted her friend, Song Yuqi, flailing an arm. "Soojin!" Yuqi called. Soojin acknowledged the call with a small smile.

"How's classes, babe?" The sudden appearance of call names made Soojin's smile flip.

"You should stop with the cringy names, Yuqi," A breathy groan escaped her plump lips upon slumping on the cushioned seat.

"Why? People like it when I call them babe," Yuqi countered.

"Well, breaking news— I don't. So please,"

Ignoring the now pouting Yuqi, she looked around, scanning the not-so-busy cafeteria. They decided to meet a little earlier than usual to get a decent table for themselves. Miyeon, the final out of the three, had told them that she'd be late because of an abrupt meeting for a group project, which explains why she's alone with the other at the moment.

She took one final look around before sneakily fishing her phone out of the little gap in between her hip and the waistband of her skirt, well hidden behind the academy blazer.

"You're still brave enough to bring your phone with you?" Soojin levered an eyebrow.

"With a pack of Student Council members just there?" Yuqi continued, flicking her head to the side to pinpoint a specific area behind her. Soojin tilted her body to examine an unseen spot over the Chinese's shoulder.

There she sees several student council members occupying a table not too far from them. Although they seem to be absorbed with each other's utterances, she knew the bunch could catch even the slightest of suspicious acts and be ridiculously observant in the most unexpected times.

In truth, that's how they managed to corner a sneaky fox, AKA Seo Soojin herself, scrolling through social media in one of the academy's deserted janitor rooms.

Soojin rolled her eyes once more before retracting her phone. She knew very well that she wouldn't want her phone taken for the second time.

"Is Miyeon unnie's meeting ending soon?" Soojin asked, groaning in frustration.

"Should be. She said she wouldn't stay for longer than thirty minutes," Yuqi started. "Speaking of her," Yuqi continued, pursing her lips in a direction. Soojin followed the gesture.

"Hey, girls." Miyeon greeted with an exhausted sigh. She plopped herself next to Yuqi, directly across Soojin.

"Nice timing. Miss hottie's temper here is starting to build up," Yuqi said, earning herself a piercing glare from the mentioned blonde.

"Oh? Why? Did something happen?" Miyeon asked. Yuqi explained.

"Well, we should've kept in mind that the student council members are early birds, if we did then we could've set a later time."

"Don't even try to spoil her now. She should break up with her phone for a while," Yuqi opposed, withdrawing another deadly glare from Soojin.

"What? We're your friends. Pay attention to us for just an hour! Plus, it's best we make use of it now since we're gonna plan the party!" The brunette quickly defended herself.

"That is true, Soojin. Yuqi's housewarming party is in a week," Miyeon added.

Soojin sighed, defeated. "Fine. So, what's on your mind?"

"A banger party, of course!" Yuqi answered.

"With alcohol?" Soojin asked for reassurance. If she was Yuqi, she would most definitely not prefer having wasted bodies laying on her living room floor and furniture in the morning.

"Not that extreme. Maybe margarita should be enough?"

"That's new for you. You'll always go for the booze," Miyeon claimed, her tone amused.

"Who said we aren't going for a drink?" Yuqi smirked. "When the party's over, we can have the living room for ourselves and pop the real booze," Yuqi then pretended to chug an imaginary shot, winking at the two.

Miyeon face-palmed. How could she doubt Yuqi? A party is never a party without a bottle of beer for her.

"Sure, but not the living room for heaven's sake. Who knows what'll be left after the party?" Miyeon grimaced, only thinking of it gave her a headache. Soojin and Yuqi laughed but agreed.

"My room it is then. I get the bed though," Yuqi returned.

A short while passed and the party's planned. All that's left is for the actual party itself. The cafeteria grew busier too until there were voluminous chatters and a few numbers of tables left.

"We still have twenty minutes before the bell rings. Does anyone have an idea for a game or something?" Miyeon asked.

Soojin shrugged, clueless. Maybe it's because of the lack of interest, but games weren't exactly taking much part of her forte. She is bad at most games. Though, it depends on the game for her willingness to play.

"Ah!" Yuqi clapped so suddenly, startling the other two. 

"How about we play our usual... truth or dare?" Yuqi's mischievous smirk returns. Soojin rolled her eyes.

"I thought it was something more exciting..." Soojin muttered. Yuqi frowned.

"Come on! Isn't it the best time for a short round of truth or dare?"

"In a bustling cafeteria? Not really, Yuqi," Miyeon replied.

"Not you too, Miyeon unnie!" Yuqi whined.

"Come onnnn! Just one round?" Yuqi didn't back down, this time with her eyes sparkling. "Please?" The youngest added and pouted, the puppy look coming together. Miyeon groaned.

_Cuteness_. Everyone knows it as a weakness of hers, and Yuqi sure is a heck of an adorable troublemaker. How long could she possibly stand the puppy eyes?

"Don't tell me you're giving in already, unnie?" Soojin asked.

"I can't help it! She's too cute," Miyeon reasoned. It took her every strength to keep herself from pinching Yuqi's soul out of her.

Soojin, knowing she's on the contrary side alone, decided to just settle into the younger's wishes.

"Just. a. short. round." She stressed. "Who goes first?" Soojin resumed.

"Miyeon-unnie!" Yuqi exclaimed. Miyeon frowned.

"Why me?"

"Just because! So, truth or dare?" Yuqi didn't give her a single second to protest. Miyeon paused for a moment.

"Dare." She smirked.

"Oooh, daring now, are we?" Yuqi smirked back. Miyeon shrugged.

"Soojin," Yuqi called her informally, not that she felt offended, she's used to it and didn't mind. The younger then motioned her to be the one responsible for Miyeon's dare.

She rummaged through her head, also peering around to help pick up an idea. It didn't take more than a short while for a small smirk to stretch the blonde's lips.

_'Why not make it a little spicy?'_ Soojin thought.

"See that girl there?" Soojin's crimson painted finger darted on a lonesome girl sitting not too far from them.

"Her tie looks a little loose, don't you think? Fix it," Soojin smirked. Miyeon faced her with wide eyes, baffled.

"Are you serious? We're actually going there? Are you forgetting that there are student council members are right behind us? One of them is the one who reported you sneaking out of class even!" The older hissed.

"Then don't look too conspicuous. Make it look natural and that you're friends. There's no harm in fixing a friend's tie, right?" Soojin's smirk never left nor weakened, the twist in her words covered with a feigned innocent voice. With such a determined look, Miyeon knew the girl wouldn't back down anytime soon.

She sighed defeatedly. After taking a small peak at the specific table behind them, she strode to the target's table.

The other two watched with utmost delight while trying their best to not turn into laughing stocks at every move Miyeon makes. Not more than several minutes after, Miyeon came striding back to them. She looked like she wanted the floor to eat her up at that very moment.

"That was a good one! She looks as red as a tomato!" Yuqi slipped in between her laughs. "Well done, Miyeon-sii," Yuqi added, clapping like a seal.

"Keep it the fuck down, Yuqi!" Miyeon hissed and pinched the younger's arm. She looked around for any suspecting eyes and sighed in relief as she sees none.

She turned her head to Yuqi and replaced her frown with a smirk of her own. "Now it's your turn, you little rascal,"

And just like that, the next player was none other than the initiator herself, Song Yuqi. Miyeon was more than ecstatic to see the younger ask a nerd's number and flirt shortly, just like what she had dared her to do.

"Fuck, that was so embarrassing!" Yuqi hissed, a hand up to cover her face from the people who witnessed her little act.

Miyeon laughed hysterically, fully satisfied. In the midst of the little catfight currently happening among Miyeon and Yuqi, Soojin's eyes shifted to the moving figures behind the two. 

It appears that...

The student council members are tidying up!

Oh, how Soojin's eyes lit up brightly. She had been dying to check the notifications buzzing on her phone for the past thirty minutes.

"Oh, they left," Yuqi said. Miyeon followed her line of sight, seeing that the intimnidating bunch are indeed leaving.

Just then, a perfect idea popped in her mind. 

"Good," Miyeon added, another smirk tugging her lips, though it seemed a bit more sly this time.

"Now we can actually start the game," Miyeon continued, sharing a short gaze with Yuqi, who had quickly gotten the message and soon had a smirk on her lips too.

The sudden silence caught Soojin's attention. She looked up to the brunette, then to the youngest. Upon finally getting a sniff of their mischief, she knew she was up for something she is probably going to regret.

"I was thinking of something mild... But now that the owls are gone and you're Seo Soojin, it's not that bad to not hold back once in a while, right?" Yuqi said with such a teasing tone.

.

"Sorry, you want me to WHAT?" Soojin asked, her voice filled with disbelief.

"You heard me," Yuqi started. "Kiss. a. random. girl." She then fluttered her eyelashes innocently, as if she hadn't just dared the girl to go and crash her lips on some random student.

"Why? Backing out?" Miyeon teased.

Soojin bit her lip, hesitating. In this little game of theirs, she had been keeping her record of not skipping any truths or dares. She didn't care and loved the challenge- she proudly claimed on her first games with them and had lived up to it ever since.

This particular dare though, is way out of the ordinary, and not to mention, is threatening to put an end to her long preserved record. Of course, it's way less important than kissing someone, but she didn't wanna be chicken out over a small kiss. Heck, she had all the experience she needed to be an expert in these kinds of stuff, and her friends knew this so well.

To put it simply, rejecting a small kiss would be a fatal shot to her ego. Not to mention the penalties they had discussed if they couldn't perform a dare. They had taken their little game too seriously and Soojin has only started to regret it now.

"Oh? She's backing out! Seo Soojin is backing out!" Yuqi said in between her chuckles, enjoying the scene of a flustered Soojin too much. Soojin's ears perked up, her eyebrows knitting.

"Who said I'm backing out?" Soojin responded. The other two froze for a second, not expecting the blonde to actually take the risk.

"W-Woah, you're doing it? For real?" Miyeon asked, but Soojin didn't bother. Instead, her eyes traveled around.

She browsed the cafeteria until a blonde with a ponytail standing up from her table and striding to what it seems like the comfort room caught her attention. Kissing a stranger is crazy enough, so Soojin wasn't sure if she could handle a crowd of students witnessing the actual scene.

Soojin nodded, she had to be as discreet as possible. A comfort room wouldn't have too many people, right? _Right_.

Without a warning, she charged to her target, eyeing her as she pushed the door open and made her way inside the girls' comfort room.

"W-Wait, hold on... Soojin!" She didn't look back and just went to get it over with.

With her fast pace, she arrived in front of the door to her possible nightmare. She placed her hand on the knob and turned it before slipping inside.

Her eyes scanned the small space. To her favor, the girls' comfort room was empty. She heaved a sigh of relief. Now, this should be less humiliating.

Soojin fidgeted with her fingers, almost sweating with how nervous she was. She waited until a flush echoed the entire room, and followed with a door lock unfastening.

_'This is it,'_ She thought before gulping and nodded to herself. 

Without wasting time, she strode to the stall and within a second, snaked an arm around the girl's waist and pulled her close, pressing her plump red lips against the stranger's own.

Despite the slightly forceful pull in the beginning, Soojin kissed her as gentle as she could, very much like the normal first kisses shared by new lovers, except for the lovers part, of course.

_Soft_. Her lips are soft. Quite _warm_ too.

Soojin thought in the middle of the kiss. The blonde had kissed a girl before and knew about how girls usually have softer lips than boys. She just never thought she'll be kissing another for the sake of a dare.

Ending the small kiss with a little pop, she opened her eyes. She was greeted by the girl's hair covering most of her sight.

_Black_. Raven black.

Her eyebrows furrowed, confused. But... the woman she meant to kiss had blonde hair?

_'Wait... What the fuck—'_

Just before she could back off herself, the stranger forcefully pushed her off and stood there, shocked, a hand up to cover the lips that the blonde just recently claimed. Soojin stumbled backwards, the tiled wall halting her from tripping any further. Now, Soojin definitely didn't look any better— she couldn't bring herself to look at the girl and is reddening up like crazy.

Soojin jolted when another flush filled the silence.

"Hey, Shuhua, We have a student council meeting after school so let's just catch a ride together," Her original target— the student with blonde hair tied up in a ponytail, came out of a stall and said.

Soojin tensed, the sound of warnings blaring loudly into her ear. _'Student Council meeting...?'_

In a haste, her eyes searched for the raven-haired girl's ID and she swore she had never felt like wanting to die her whole life than now.

_'Shit,'_

_Student Council Member, Yeh Shuhua._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all for now~!
> 
> Note: Hello! I changed quite a number of stuff on my first chapter, so I suggest you read it again! Not forcing yall though, the story flow is still the same! :))


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the kiss.

"Wait," Yuqi raised her hands, stopping Soojin. "Hold on, I think I'm hearing things," Yuqi continued and snickered at what her mind digested from the words that just left the blonde's mouth.

Now, now... That's just ridiculous! She must've just heard it wrong, right? There's no way!

Of course there is absolutely no fucking way Soojin just kissed a Student Council member. No way at all!

"Okay, I'm good. Again, please,"

"I-I kissed a Student Council member,"

Miyeon choked on her juice. Yuqi choked on air. The two gathered as much composure as they could within a second (which wasn't much) and turned to Soojin, their necks threatening to snap with how abrupt they reacted. "WHAT!?"

Soojin grew red.

She felt as if her whole being is slowly being consumed by humiliation. Soojin wanted to say something, but what was there left to say? She had kissed a stranger named Yeh Shuhua who turned out to be a member of the council she hated most. That was it. End of the conversation.

The blonde remained silent, feeding Miyeon and Yuqi's surprise. It's such a rare sight to see Soojin out of her shell.

"Oh, shit... She's serious," Miyeon uttered.

"WHAT HAPPENED!?" Yuqi asked, almost yelling with how fueled her voice was.

Soojin quickly reacted and stood up to cover Yuqi's mouth with her hand. She looked over her shoulder, checking if someone might've overheard their conversation. Surely enough, the last thing she would ever want is for the whole school to gossip about her kissing a student council member, and for them to know that it all started because of a simple dare? Absolutely not. She had too much to just throw away for a small _'accident'_.

Yuqi swatted her hand away and pulled her down. So much for Soojin's dismay, they aren't about to just let this one slide.

"What happened?" She leaned closer to the blonde and repeated, this time, almost whispering.

Miyeon joined in and leaned, her eyes intently staring at Soojin as they waited.

Soojin cleared her throat, afraid she'll get caught up with her own words. God, a lot had already happened today that will probably haunt her for life. She would definitely not appreciate another addition to the pile.

"I just... kissed her," Soojin mumbled. Good thing the other two leaned closer, or else it would've just been Soojin muttering inaudible nothings.

"Details?"

"Are you serious?" Soojin asked as her brows furrowed. "How can I possibly tell a kiss in detail?"

"Stupid," Yuqi raised a fist, about to knock the older's head, but quickly retreated after seeing Soojin's glare.

"I mean— what happened before you kissed her?"

"Well..." Soojin started. On cue, the scene replayed in her mind.

"You saw me go to the bathroom. I waited for her to finish... then just kissed her as soon as she got out of the stall,"

"Woah..." The only word that managed to come out of Miyeon's mouth. The brunette could never do that, nor even get close to that.

"What happened after?" Yuqi asked again.

"I-I..." The stutters finally broke out of Soojin.

Now, you're probably asking— why was she flustered over something she had already done multiple times?

Well, the answer to that is— who wouldn't fucking be after kissing a goddamn school pet? She probably wouldn't be so nervous if there wasn't a repercussion afterward, but unfortunately, this kiss called for one.

Soojin vividly remembers how shocked the woman was, and given only that expression, she knew she had to be in trouble. A big one at that.

"After the kiss, she pushed me off, then just dragged the blonde out with her,"

"Oh shit," Yuqi cursed. "So she wasn't the one you meant to kiss?" Soojin nodded, sighing.

"Wow, you fucked up so bad," Yuqi responded. Soojin instantly glared at her.

"Well, whichever of them you kissed, you'll still be fucked up. You said she's also a Student Council member, right?" Soojin sighed and nodded again.

So suddenly, Soojin's ears suddenly perked up after she recalled everything that had happened. Almost immediately, her glare clawed the two and pointed a finger.

"You two! It's both your fault!"

"Woah, Woah, Woah," Yuqi raised her hands. "Hold up, Seo Soojin! We just wanted to tease you! Did you really think that I'll make you do such a thing? We even tried to stop you when you went off but what did you do? Ignore us!" Yuqi quickly defended both of them. Miyeon, her right hand for the dare, just aggressively nodded in agreeance.

"Still! You two started it! So It's your fault!"

"It's your fault too!"

"Heck no!"

After a whole argument of whose fault it is, they finally decided to stop when a student cleared their throat, hinting that they were being too loud. Now talking calmly, they met at a point where they conceded that each of them had a part in the play.

"That's uncalled for, though? She just left? After you smooched the heck out of her in the bathroom?" Yuqi wondered. Soojin grimaced at Yuqi's choice of words.

"Yeah, it is questionable..." Miyeon added.

"Weird... Do you think she just let her off?"

"That's impossible, she has to be in trouble after that," Miyeon answered.

"Yup, she has to be," Yuqi chuckled lightly.

And just like that, on the next day, after the bell rang, the three almost dropped whatever they were holding as soon as they glanced up to a student who had suddenly stopped by their table.

"Hey there, sorry to bother your lunch, but can I excuse your friend here?" She asked Yuqi and Miyeon before looking at Soojin, beaming a small smile that could mean Soojin's end.

Soojin gulped, it's the same blonde girl with a ponytail from yesterday.

"S-Sure," Miyeon answered, the two certain words imprinted on the visitor's ID sure looked a little more intimidating up close.

Soojin spared a glance at the two before pushing herself up from her seat, not missing how her friends mouthed her good luck just before she looked away.

"Let's go?" The other blonde asked a little too gently for Soojin's comfort.

Of course, a warm invitation to hell. How fitting.

Soojin forced a smile before nodding. She tailed the fellow blonde. They had crossed and turned from a hall to another until they eventually arrived at a part of the academy that Soojin could barely recognize. They didn't stop until they reached a closed door of a room. She raised a brow at the woman, who only motioned her to go inside.

_'What the fuck...'_ Soojin cursed inwardly.

Is the Shuhua girl planning to kill her that she had to pull her out this far? And over a simple kiss? Though she meant it for fun, Soojin involuntarily swallowed a lump down her throat, feeling like she just gassed her nervousness over a simple joke.

Is she actually feeling nervous about this? Her? Seo Soojin? She snickered at herself. Of course not. Because of a kiss? Ha! Over her dead bod—

"Soojin-sii?" The same blonde pulled her back to Earth.

Soojin jolted. She realized that she'd been standing in front of the door for longer than necessary and awkwardly laughed it off. Wanting to get this over with soon, she grasped the doorknob and with a deep breath, twisted it. Carefully, she pushed the door open and slipped inside.

Right there, on the back of the room, was the very girl that's been bugging her mind for the past day. She was just there, taking gradual steps by the lockers. She had her attention on whatever fascinating stuff the lockers had, so Soojin thought she was oblivious of her presence, not to mention how silent she walked in.

Just when she's about to call her attention out, the council member abruptly closed the locker she was examining, cutting Soojin off.

"Sit down, Soojin-sii,"

Soojin swallowed another lump on her throat as goosebumps ran over her skin. She didn't know her name could sound so scary coming out of another person's mouth.

With her heart beating a little faster than normal, she sat on a chair. Not without stumbling a little when her side landed on the armrest instead.

She heard the girl's heels click against the tiled floor. Every click came closer, and closer until the girl's foot landed right beside her. Through the side of her eye, she saw her grab the frame of the chair beside hers and drag it right with her, stopping in front of her face and sitting down.

Their eyes met, but none of their gazes faltered.

Soojin, being the proud woman she is, didn't show an inch of fear in her eyes. She would be lying if she said she didn't feel a bit scared and nervous, but she had too much pride to admit that to a Student Council member.

Shuhua, on the other hand, didn't have any plans to back down as well. Oh, she knows Soojin and her reputation. In fact, she did a little searching through the academy records after the incident in the comfort room, just to know if she had any offenses like that in history. Surprisingly enough, despite how blatantly the blonde pulled her in and kissed her, it appears that this is her first time.

Right before fires could shoot out of their eyes, the other council member waiting outside, opened the door slightly, enough to poke her head in and give them a frown.

"Maybe talk? Both of you? We don't have all the time in the world, in case you two don't know," She said and left.

Shuhua rolled her eyes at her friend's remark and then looked back at Soojin, who still had a plain look. She sighed, knowing that she had to initiate something or else they'd just stare at each other till dawn.

"Okay, let's just get it over with," Shuhua spoke out, leaning forward and staring straight into Soojin's eyes.

"Why did you kiss me in the comfort room?" She asked. Mentioning it herself had her nearly tripping over her words. Gladly, Soojin didn't seem to notice it.

Soojin buffered. Her eyes moved at every angle but avoided Shuhua's. Oh god, just how is she supposed to explain all of this without having to say that it's for a dare?

As much as Soojin hates Yuqi for giving her the dare, she didn't wanna put the two in trouble by mentioning them. Besides, they were just joking around. They did challenge her, but Soojin admits that she was the one who acted impatiently and took the crazy dare into action. All of that just because she had a reputation she wants to keep.

"Or perhaps, do you not remember?" Shuhua asked, but grew confused at how silent Soojin was.

"Seo Soojin-sii?" Shuhua called. The other appeared to still be lost in her thoughts.

Shuhua cleared her throat, but to no avail, Soojin remained unresponsive.

The council member sighed. She tapped her arm repeatedly. _'So, you wanna play, huh?'_ She thought.

Sure, two can play a game.

Soojin woke up from her thoughts when she felt a strong push on her shoulders. She winced when her back crashed against the chair's wooden backrest.

"What the fu—"

Soojin immediately swallowed her words back when her eyes met the girl's brown ones. Shuhua was standing up before her, her body bent down to level with her and her face leaned in. Soojin gulped, realizing the short distance between their faces. She was sure that one wrong move is all it takes for their noses to touch.

A second after, the black-haired girl opened her mouth to say something. "Do you remember now?"

Soojin could only stammer at how sudden everything was happening. She couldn't keep up. On the other hand, Shuhua, feeling irritation creeping up when the blonde continued to remain silent, retreated and stood up straight. She thought for a while before eventually coming up with a decision.

"Okay, I made up my mind," Shuhua started.

"Seo Soojin from Class 2-B. As a member of the council and an authorized student by the school principal, you are due for a month of detention on school days," Shuhua, with such an unfazed tone, said Soojin's penalty.

Soojin's jaw dropped and her eyes widened like never before. A MONTH!?

"W-Wait, what!?" Soojin abruptly sprung up from her seat.

As for Shuhua, she remained calm and composed. Shuhua followed suit, standing up and as if she didn't say anything, smiled warmly at Soojin.

"For your detentions, please proceed to this room right after the last bell rings of every weekday of the month. I'm the one responsible for keeping an eye on you so do expect me to assist you on your every detention,"

Shuhua politely bowed before her, her taunting smile never leaving her face. "That's all I have to say, thank you for your time, Soojin-sii. You're dismissed,"

She started to walk away. "Oh," Shuhua stopped on her tracks, turning back to Soojin. "Do note that I'll only wait for you for ten minutes. If you are late or don't show up for even just a day, I'll give you an additional week of detention. So please, be punctual." Shuhua gave her another smile and continued to shuffle her way out.

Without giving the blonde a chance to protest, she stepped out of the room and closed the door behind her, leaving the other inside, still speechless in shock. She looked over her waiting friend and gave her a cue. They started to walk off.

"You two almost kissed again back there. What was that for?" The other student council member asked as they fleed the area. She had watched them through the door window the whole time.

"Just so she knows how I felt that time. What I did to her wasn't even close to what she did," Shuhua breathed out.

"That's true. Besides, she just showed up out of nowhere and kissed you. What the fuck was that?" The blonde in a ponytail said.

"Oh, speaking of it. That was your first kiss, right?" Shuhua groaned, which is a yes for an answer.

As much as she didn't want to show how upset she was for her first kiss to be taken like that, not to mention, by a complete stranger, she couldn't help the imaginary smokes coming out of her nostrils.

"That's sad though, you always wished for your first kiss to be what..? Breathtaking? And with your crush?" The blonde couldn't help but chuckle when she compared the younger's imagination to how it actually happened. 

Ever since they became close friends and talked about first kisses, Shuhua had always described her perfect scenario so passionately. With her eyes lost in her imagination of her kissing the love of her life at a place so romantic, and felt all the fireworks spark, her feet lifted off the ground, and the butterflies flutter inside her at the same time.

Up until now, she kept that dream in mind and hoped of pursuing it. But now that it's ruined by a random kiss in a school comfort room, Minnie's damn sure Shuhua would do something about it.

Shuhua heard her and frowned. "Minnie-unnie," She called her warningly.

The latter immediately stopped laughing and mouthed a _'sorry'_ before patting the younger's shoulder. 

Facing back ahead, with fire unseen but felt through her gaze, Shuhua huffed.

_'You messed with the wrong person, Seo Soojin. I'll make you regret taking my first kiss. Just so you wait,'_


	3. Chapter Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soojin's first week of detention.

_'Ugh!'_ Soojin snarled.

Despite her growls only rumbling inside her, she couldn't help but let a low and short grunt escape from her throat.

Yeh Shuhua, who was minding her own business, heard the tiny sound and gazed up to her from the multiple papers messily stacked on her chair's armrest.

Shuhua kept her gaze on the older, and soon, arched a clean brow out of confusion. Soojin felt the longing gaze on her and faced the culprit, their gazes meeting.

The blonde saw the other's expression. She took it as a challenge, so without wasting a second, she mimicked her— also cocking an eyebrow.

"What?" Soojin asked, sounding irritated.

Shuhua rolled her eyes. Of course, the blonde always had to speak so unwelcomingly. For the past two days, Soojin had acted like placing her in detention is one of the biggest sins she had ever committed her whole life.

Shuhua just couldn't believe it! Was she supposed to show the warmest actions after she kissed her out of the blue? Not to mention, destroy her dream of a romantic first kiss? Unbelievable!

Sure, a detention for a month is one of the worst penalties to get, but still, wasn't it the least she could do?

She's sure that if she didn't choose to hold back that day and charged straight to the Principal's office, Soojin would've taken a more drastic measure that she most probably not prefer having.

With a heavy sigh, Shuhua tilted her head back down, grabbed her pen, and continued what she was doing.

Soojin sighed, and after, took a secretive peek of Shuhua. She frowned when she saw the girl unfazed, clearly uninterested in whatever may have caused her seemingly distressed exhalation.

All while examining Shuhua, Soojin tried again— she cleared her throat and heaved another sigh. This time, heavier and louder than before.

Soojin's frown grew.  _ 'Still ignoring me, huh?'_

For her third attempt, she readied herself— altering her position to the side so she's more stretched out, and tapped her nails on the table.

She isn't just gonna let Shuhua get the upper hand here.

With that, she drew another heavy breath. This time it sounded completely theatrical, and it was all based on her complete intention.

Shuhua breathed heavier through her nose, biting her lip as her grip on her pen tightened. The witness (also the cause of it), saw and a smirk instantly stretched her lips.

Not stopping until she completely breaks the shell, Soojin continued.

All it took was a few seconds, and Shuhua's cool finally ruptured, causing her to almost slamming her pen on the table.

"Seo Soojin," The council member called out.

Soojin smirked when she could almost imagine how hard Shuhua is gritting with only her words. Acting naive, she faced her with fluttering lashes and a small smile.

"Yes, Shuhua-sii? Do you need anything?" She used the formality card to complete her feigning innocence, also to land the last hit on Shuhua's patience.

Shuhua huffed. She ran her tongue across her lips, wetting her lips as she felt the need to. They must've dried throughout Soojin's uncontrollable teasing.

"What do you want?"

"Well..." Soojin lifted a leg and rested it on top of another, all while turning slightly to face Shuhua.

"I don't know. But I wouldn't mind leaving earlier today so—"

"No," Shuhua quickly cut her off and continued where she left off with work.

Soojin, taken aback by the fast rejection, bit her lip and glared at Shuhua.

_'I swear, this woman...'_ Soojin thought. _ 'Why is she so determined on keeping me locked in here!?'_

"If you didn't kiss me in the first place, you wouldn't be here. So ask that question to yourself," Shuhua answered. Soojin's eyes widen, not realizing she accidentally thought out loud.

Soojin, of course, not backing down, thought of a rebut. So did Shuhua, and then the other again, and then another.

The two wasted a whole minute bickering before ending the argument with a huff and an eye roll.

The rest of Soojin's detention was spent in silence. Too much that when the last tick finally hit, the blonde gathered her things as fast as possible and exited the room before Shuhua could say anything, not that Shuhua was planning to, anyway.

A few days passed and it's finally Friday— the last day of Soojin's first week of detention.

During the past days, Soojin didn't stop with her ways. She kept on trying to get Shuhua to change her mind. She went as far as pestering the heck out of her to even trying to seduce her using her undeniable charms.

For the seducing part, let's just say that she went a little too far that she got Shuhua burning up so bad. The council member, feeling frustrated yet flushed by Soojin's move at the same time, then decided to add an academy service to stack on top of her detentions.

Soojin spent the rest of her detention trying to talk it out with the other. She told her something along the lines of she'd much rather attend detentions for two months rather than doing academy services during school hours, out in the open for all the students to see.

Shuhua remained unfazed and dismissed her without an answer. She even went as far as threatening her about adding community service as well if the older didn't stop soon.

School had just ended, and there Shuhua was, walking somewhere on the grounds of the academy's premises. She had just finished a student council meeting and is on her way to Soojin's detention room located in the main building.

She arrived by the field and her eyes instantly searched for a certain soccer player on the field. As usual, she didn't fail to find her  _crush _ within a few seconds.

Shuhua's excitement toggled up when she saw him handle the ball with ease and dribble past the opposing team's defense line. With a precise kick, he shot the ball on a corner and scored a goal.

The council member's eyes lit up in admiration as she saw him run across the field with a fist pumped in the air. He got tackled by his teammates and in the midst of their short celebration, he spotted Shuhua.

He waved a hand, as if telling her to wait up. Shuhua happily stopped from her tracks and smiled, waving back at him. He rushed to her and was instantly greeted with his charming smile.

"Hey, Shuhua," He smiled.

"Hi, Dohyun," She smiled back.

They talked for a few minutes, asking each other how they were and all that stuff Shuhua didn't really care about, but answered willingly for him.

It didn't take long before he got called back in by his coach.

Both bid their farewells and with a warm heart, Shuhua continued her way to the main building. She earned some eyes because of how big her smile was, but she couldn't care less.

"You're late," Soojin said, her legs crossed.

Shuhua raised a brow. "Does that matter?"

"Unfortunately for you— yes, it does," Soojin smirked. After all this time, she finally had something to corner Shuhua with.

"To make up for that, lessen my detention time today by thirty minutes,"

"Thirty minutes!? I was only late for five!"

"And so? Does that matter?" Soojin cockily copied what she had said.

"As the one responsible for me, you should never be late. Besides, you're a Student Council member, being late isn't acceptable," Soojin continued.

Shuhua opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out so she just rolled her eyes. "Fine, whatever,"

Hearing the words Soojin longed to hear for the past week, she couldn't help but pull the brightest smile after a while. Shuhua turned to the woman, only to chuckle lightly at what she saw.

_'She's that happy?'_ Shuhua thought.

Slightly amazed by the rare sight of Soojin smiling, she watched her a little longer.

A while had passed and both of them just sat on their respective seats, busy with their own stuff.

Shuhua, who's having a hard time checking all of the papers her teacher had left for her, came up with the most brilliant idea.

She took a decent number of papers off the stack and proceeded to Soojin.

Just as she expected, Soojin's usual cold  _'what'_ greeted her as soon as she neared her space.

Not replying, Shuhua placed the papers on her table. She then reached for her blazer to pull out a pen and handed it to Soojin. The blonde raised a brow at her.

"Since you'll be out earlier today, do these," Shuhua said and casually walked back to her seat.

"The answer key should be on the pile, just check their papers and write the correct letter if their answer is wrong,"

Soojin eyed her with disbelief. "Excuse me— Are you being serious? And why should I do this?"

"Detentions are a little more boring than I imagined, so I thought I'll make you do a few things every now and then so it doesn't feel like you're just here staring at me while I work," Shuhua smiled.

"I— Hey! I do not stare at you!"

She shrugged. "Whatever makes you sleep at night, Soojin-sii. But make sure to finish those before you leave, yes?"

Soojin looked at her for a few more seconds, waiting for the younger to say that she's kidding and that she didn't have to do it. Well, so much for her luck, Shuhua never glanced at her after that.

"Seriously, this girl..." Soojin breathed out. She didn't wanna ruin her good mood by complaining and ending up in a debate with the other so she just surrendered.

She searched for the answer key and took the pen. Then, Soojin bit the cap of the pen and with ease, pulled it off with her mouth.

They worked in silence for the next ten minutes. Until Soojin decided to question her.

"Why are you even checking these? Shouldn't the teachers be doing this?" She questioned, though she admits she quite enjoys the little work.

It's better than not doing anything for an hour anyway.

"I volunteered," Shuhua answered, withdrawing a grimace from the other.

"You volunteered? To give yourself more work?"

"It's not that much of a big deal, so I just do it. Besides, most of the time they'll call me to do it for them, anyway," The council member answered her. Soojin almost felt bad for her.

"I knew it. Being a school pet isn't great at all," Soojin muttered.

Shuhua sighed, "Stop talking about unimportant stuff and focus," She said. Soojin only shrugged at her in response.

The council member finished first. She sighed, stretching her numb limbs until a satisfied groan left her mouth. Curious as to how the troublemaker is doing, she glanced at her.

_'She so focused,'_ Shuhua thought. It's her first time seeing her so indulged in something. And she had to say, she looked calm and peaceful. Much preferable than her hot-headed state.

Seeing that the other is almost done, she shifted her gaze to the window before the other could catch her staring.

"Done," Soojin claimed and tidied the papers before showing them to Shuhua.

Shuhua's eyes searched for the wall clock, _4:58_ .

"Just on time," Shuhua announced. "Thanks for the help, you're dismissed,"

As usual, Soojin didn't reply and just swung her bag over her shoulders.

Shuhua watched her, but her eyes squinted when she sees something peeking from her bag, it was reflecting the light of the room. Shuhua's eyebrows furrowed when she realized.

_'A disco lamp?' _ She thought.

Even though she was curious enough to ask the blonde about it, she decided to mind her own business.

"Seo Soojin," She called her.

Soojin turned to her, a brow raised again. "What?"

She pointed to her opened bag. "Your bag is unzipped,"

Immediately, Soojin reached to zip her bag closed. She acted so quickly that it looked like she tried to hide a bar of gold. Shuhua's eyebrows furrowed in wonder. With a forced smile, Soojin left the room.

Ding Dong!

Soojin's finger poked the doorbell. The door opened and there Yuqi was with a huge smile on her face, "Oh? You're early!"

"Come inside, hurry!" The younger cheered, quickly pulling her inside.

"So? What do you think?" Miyeon asked the newly arrived blonde, both her arms and Yuqi's spread out, as if presenting the whole living room to Soojin.

While Soojin was gone for her detention, they started to gear up Yuqi's living room for the party tomorrow evening. The place looked clean, the designs didn't look messy and everything appeared to be in their proper places.

"Not bad," Soojin answered. The positive feedback made the two cheer.

"Oh, by the way, did you bring it?" Yuqi asked.

Soojin smirked, zipping her bag open and fishing the disco lamp out, "You bet I did,"

"The academy gates are closing in twenty minutes. Please leave the premises now." The guard's static voice echoed from the speaker installed in the classroom.

Shuhua sighed, it's her cue. She gathered all her things and made her way to the door, but she stopped when her phone rang.

She answered the call, "Hey,  _unnie _. What's up?"

Shuhua frowned, "A  party ? Tomorrow?"

"I don't know if I can go... I might be busy." She answered back.

"You said that the last party we attended was the last one, do you think I'll believe you?"

"Ask Minnie-unnie to go with you.... What? She said she'll only go if I go? Are you kidding me?" Shuhua replied to her caller.

"You promise? Last?... Okay fine.... I love you too, unnie," And with that said, she ended the call.

_'A party at Saturday?' _ Shuhua thought.

"Whatever," She mumbled.

Suddenly, she remembered the  disco lamp she saw inside Soojin's bag. She snorted, what will the blonde possibly do with that?

The council member only sighed and buried her phone back in her pocket, leaving the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's obvious, but I'll ask anyways! Who do you think Shuhua's caller is?


	4. Chapter Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The party.

"Seriously, Yeh Shuhua?"

"What?"

"You're going to a party wearing _that_?" Minnie asked with disbelief, a finger stretched out to dart at Shuhua's sweatshirt and jeans.

"Why? There's nothing wrong with it!" Shuhua frowned and hugged herself, trying to guard her precious sweats against her friend's offending stares.

"There is!" Minnie fought. "You're going to a party, Shuhua! Not some marketplace!"

"It's not that bad!"

The Thai one could only sigh and pinch the bridge of her nose, trying to calm herself by reminding her that Shuhua had only been to several social events her whole life. The smartypants reasoned that there are more ways to wisely spend your time other than tossing ping pong balls into plastic cups and grinding against some wasted guy's beer-reeking body.

"You didn't even wear any makeup?"

"I'm beautiful enough!"

"That's not the point!" Minnie glared.

They both fell into silence— one not knowing how to turn the table upside down, and the other trying to think of how she could possibly solve their dilemma.

"I brought my makeup bag," Minnie pursed her lips to her pouch. "Use it,"

"I-I don't know how," The younger fidgeted with her fingers. Her gaze wavering to signal for the older's help. Minnie caught it and groaned.

Her eyes rolled to the clock, _6:01_.

The party starts at seven. They have an hour left.

She looked back at Shuhua, a sigh escaping her throat once more as she realized how much she had to work with within the next round of the clock.

Shuhua caught the older's frustration thanks to the full sigh. She felt guilt starting to build up and mustered a tiny "Sorry,"

Minnie's creased face soon softened up, taking a few steps closer to her fellow council member and patted her crown.

Oh, to experience getting mad at her even once in her life. She sometimes wishes Shuhua wasn't so pure and adorable.

"Okay, you're forgiven..." Shuhua's pout defused and molded into a cheeky smile in seconds.

"Now move your ass and grab that pouch so we can make it in time,"

"What if I don't look fine?" Shuhua murmured, her adorable pout rivaling against her matured makeup look. Minnie pressed her heel against the brakes, turning to the younger with a reassuring look.

"You look amazing, Shuhua! Don't worry," The blonde with straightened hair winked before unfastening both of their seatbelts.

"Ready?"

Shuhua bit her lip but nodded. "Ready,"

Minnie was the first one to hop off the car, she circled to the other side and opened the door for Shuhua, who still trembled in fear.

"It's okay, just walk until we're inside, yes?" Minnie said.

"O-Okay,"

As said by the older, Shuhua ignored the preying eyes and looked forth. She also tried not to look as nervous as she was inside, which she's thankfully, exceptionally good at for she's trained with her multiple nerve-wracking experiences as a council member.

She felt the other reach for her sweating hand and entangled their fingers before giving her a soft squeeze.

Shuhua smiled a little, feeling a bit more relieved thanks to the warm gesture.

After what felt like an hour, they finally reached the front door of a big home.

"Name?" A buff man dressed in a suit asked.

"Minnie Yontarak," He then scanned his list for the name and marked a check. His sharp eyes switched to Shuhua.

"Name?" He repeated.

Shuhua gulped. "Ye-Yeh Shuhua,"

Oh god, she felt like she committed a crime or whatever of the sort.

After the tense minute, the guard gave them a small smile and opened the door wide enough for them. Shuhua jolted as the broken barrier unveiled the blasting music and incredibly loud cheers. Shuhua is sure that if the house wasn't soundproof, they'd wake up their whole neighborhood with just a few beats.

"Enjoy the night, ladies,"

With that as a cue, Minnie, without a warning, pulled her inside.

Shuhua grimaced, bracing herself as they squeezed through the crowd of people.

She recognized a handful from the pile. They were from her academy. Shuhua saw it coming, but it's just crazy how a few hours ago, a few of them waved at Shuhua warmly with fixed ties in neat uniforms and then suddenly appear before her as sweaty party _monsters_ at night. People sure can be fascinating. She's just thankful they didn't smell anything like strong alcohol though.

The other continued to pull her in random directions until they arrived at a less crowded hall of the house. Shuhua breathed heavily as if she had just run a whole marathon.

"Minnie! I'm glad you made— Holy shit!"

Shuhua, who was busy flattening the creases on her dress, looked up to see a friend— Elkie. She had her face equipped with wide eyes and a dropped jaw.

The older then strode to her before grasping her exposed shoulders, her gaze wandering a little too freely on her.

"S-Shuhua, is this you!?"

The black-haired then huffed, lightly swatting her arms away. "You're too dramatic,"

"How can I not be!? You look hot as fu—" Shuhua placed a finger on her lips.

"Don't even say it, unnie," Shuhua warned.

Elkie rolled her eyes and pushed Shuhua's finger down. "Ease up. We're at a party, Shuhua! Not a school!"

The older then started to twirl around on her, caressing her hair and this and that. Shuhua sighed, trying to think of how the older managed to get a seat in her academy's own student council.

"Isn't this a bit too much for a student council member?" Shuhua asked, raising a brow at Elkie.

The remark made Elkie stop her little dancing and cross her arms at Shuhua.

"See, this is why your academy's student council is boring! You're all too serious! Try being like us— look at me for an example!" Elkie now tried to act all sexy. She brushed her brown locks up and shot her a wink.

Shuhua remained with a stony face. Minnie, on the side, laughed at both of their antics.

When she felt like Shuhua was about to push Elkie away when the girl started to dance against her again, Minnie quickly butted in.

"Okay, okay. That's enough, you two," The blonde then turned to Shuhua.

"Just... try to have fun tonight, okay? Just tonight," Minnie said. The younger looked at her, still unsure.

"Please? For me?"

Aware that she didn't have the power to turn Minnie down after all the work the blonde put into her, Shuhua just sighed defeatedly.

"Fine..."

And with that, the two friends cheered and pulled Shuhua back into the crowd, leading her to god-knows-where.

Shuhua just hopes and prays that she wouldn't be urged to dance on the packed dance floor she saw on the way to the hall.

"Go on!"

"I said no!" Shuhua protested, fighting against her friends' forceful pushing.

"What's wrong with dancing for a bit!? Go on! Didn't you agree to have fun!?"

"Humiliation is absolutely NOT fun for me! I don't dance!"

"It's a free estate! Just try!" Elkie claimed.

"Free estate or not, I am not dancing!"

"Yes or no, DANCE!" Minnie added.

They fought for probably a whole minute. Thank god the music is shattering everyone's ears, or else they would've gained more than a few weirded stares.

The two were persistent and didn't plan to stop anytime soon. So, without a choice, Shuhua gave in and danced for exactly a minute.

After running back to their table with her hands covering her face and her two laughing friends following behind, there they were, gathered with glasses of margaritas pinned between their fingers. Except for one, of course. Shuhua had chosen the most decent drink on the list— grape juice.

"I didn't expect them to serve only margaritas for such a party," Elkie frowned but took a sip of her drink.

"Me too, housewarming parties these days tend to be very wild. Some even get a case per table," Minnie answered.

Shuhua was about to take a sip of her own drink but frowned when hit with a realization.

"Wait— how did you know that?" Shuhua questioned with an eyebrow cocked up.

Minnie only gave her a naughty smirk before shrugging, answering her by taking a generous sip of her nearly empty glass of margarita.

The council member was about to interrogate her friend when the music suddenly paused.

They turned their heads to see a petite woman making her way to the DJ area. She stretched her headphones across her head and placed her hands on the pioneer, working her magic.

The crowd grew louder and crazier— chanting, jumping, and swatting their arms on the beat of the music.

Elkie, who watched the whole scene, squinted her eyes at the familiar DJ.

"Hey, I'll be back in a sec, okay?" Elkie told the two before dashing off with her margarita.

"Soojin... Soojin!"

Soojin looked over her shoulder to see Miyeon striding towards her. Miyeon paused by her side, leaning against the rails.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be partying down there?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" Miyeon answered, smirking against the rim of her cup. Soojin didn't reply and instead, continued to watch the hyped mob.

"Do you want some?"

"I'll save the drinking session for later," Soojin answered shortly. Miyeon shrugged.

"Where's Yuqi?"

Miyeon pointed a spot not too far from them and revealed the party host.

Yuqi was intently looking down at god-knows-what on the main floor. The younger looked so distracted that she might actually fall off the second floor with how much she's leaning against the rails.

"What's up with her?" Soojin asked. The Chinese woman looked like she's planning to kill someone.

"Oh, don't mind her," Miyeon gulped the last drop of her margarita.

"It's just that she has heart eyes for the DJ. She was planning to get her number after the party but it looks like she isn't the only one who had that idea in mind," She continued.

The brunette then pointed an area with her finger.

Soojin's eyes followed the gesture and revealed the mentioned girl, but with another woman on her side. They looked very much like flirting, or at least that's the vibe they give off.

Soojin's mouth formed an _'o'_ as she realized what the older had meant.

"She's jealous?" Soojin snorted lightly. Miyeon soon broke a chuckle too.

Their little moment was put to a stop when they heard heels stomping to them.

It was Yuqi, of course. Who else on this world stomps on the floor that hard when mad?

"What is it, baby?" Miyeon asked, caressing Yuqi's cheek.

"She took her!"

They instantly searched for the two figures and watched their every move. The two were holding hands, much to Yuqi's dismay, and stopped at a random table.

"Oh, she's introducing your DJ to her friends! They must be lovers now, are they?" Soojin teased, earning a deadly glare from the youngest. They started to bicker.

"Wait a second..." Miyeon muttered.

It only took a few more seconds before Miyeon gasped, pointing at someone from the same table.

"Yuqi! Soojin! I-It's that blonde Student Council member!"

The two immediately stopped whatever they were doing and turned their heads. She squinted her eyes and leaned against the rails for a better view.

_Shit. Miyeon wasn't lying._

It is indeed the blonde she meant to kiss a week ago. What a coincidence it is to see her at a party?

"Oh ho! She looks hella fine though!" Yuqi added. Miyeon raised an arm, threatening to smack her.

Soojin paused.

_Wait._

_If she's here... Then could it be..?_

As if on cue, the woman who had her back on them stood up from her seat and excused herself. She turned and Soojin's eyes almost fell out of their sockets.

_'Shuhua!?'_

"Ah, finally," Shuhua heaved a breath of relief as soon as she stepped outside.

Shuhua felt a bit suffocated at the moment, so she decided to step out a bit for some fresh air.

She made a good decision, she thought.

To her favor, the house's backyard was empty, must be because everyone had piled up inside after knowing that the party had reached its climax.

Shuhua sighed and decided to walk around the wide lawn. The council member was busy filling her eyes with the fascinating view of the night sky when she heard whistles behind her.

She turned swiftly and saw two men inching their way towards her in a very smug way, not to mention the two bottles of beer they had clutched in hand.

She started to step backward, trying to keep the distance between them. She continued until she bumped into the fence, stopping her from moving further.

The two men grinned and cornered her. Shuhua gulped, her heart beating fast with fear.

"What do you want?" Shuhua asked as stern as she could. She tried to keep a blunt face, but the bead of sweat running down her temple betrayed her.

"No need to be scared now, sweetheart..." The taller one muttered.

He attempted to touch her hair, but she was quicker and swatted his hand away before it could even get near her.

"Don't touch me,"

The two then laughed before gazing at her like she was prey. They took a step closer.

The other one then emptied his bottle of beer before throwing it somewhere on the grassland.

He grazed his hand on her arm.

"There's no use in fighting now..." They continued to inch closer to her.

"Just stay still and enjoy, ba—"

" _Baby_!"

A sharp voice halted their movements.

They all turned.

The two men looked at the visitor with scrunched faces, displeased by the interruption. Meanwhile, Shuhua froze in shock.

She couldn't believe it.

"S-Soojin..?" She muttered under her breath.

There the blonde was, standing several steps away from them. She was dressed in a black sequin dress that hugged her body's jaw-dropping curves and was short enough to show off her long legs. Her silky blonde hair framed her face perfectly and dangled down to her stomach. To top it off, she had a smoky makeup look that accentuated her cat-like features and of course, the woman's signature— her red plump lips.

Shuhua was too shaken up to realize that the blonde had already skipped to her side. 

She flinched when Soojin's hand caressed her spine and cupped her waist securely.

Before she could even realize it, she's locked in position with a side hug.

"Hey, _babe_! I've been looking everywhere for you," Soojin smiled at her lovingly before leaning in.

" _Play along,_ " Soojin whispered before leaving a small kiss on her cheek.

In midst of Soojin's loving gestures, she caught the woman's wink. Shuhua surely isn't naive enough to know what the sign meant.

Soojin then faced the two men.

"And who might you be?" She asked. The two men chuckled.

"Girlfriends? You two?" The men then laughed in chorus.

"Well, miss gorgeous, your girlfriend looked a bit taken aback just now, don't you think?" One of the two asked. Obviously suspicious.

Soojin clicked her tongue, uneasy. It's a shame the two caught the flaw in their act. They sure are determined.

Soojin bit her lip, she had to do something.

"Okay then, why not show me how strong your relationship is? Huh?"

_'Bingo,'_ Soojin thought.

"Oh, that's what you want?" Soojin replied, straightening the strangers' curved lips.

"Sure,"

Soojin then turned to Shuhua and cupped her face. She eyed the woman's lips, hinting the younger of what she was about to do.

She couldn't believe that she's in the same position she was just a week ago. But right now wasn't the time to think about that. Besides, what else could they possibly do? These men looked much stronger than them and are already being steadfast, they needed to do something more to brush them away.

Without wasting another second, she stared into Shuhua's delicate eyes, as if asking her for permission with a soft gaze.

Once given a nervous nod from the latter, she took a deep breath and slowly leaned in until their lips meet.

For a moment, she felt warmth engulf her in the midst of the night's cold breeze. But despite that, she shivered right when she felt Shuhua's soft lips on hers.

She could feel Shuhua's grip on her tighten, her body stiffening against her.

Soojin got the message and pulled away for a brief moment, before diving back in to kiss her again, this time, as soft as she could.

She had never kissed anyone like this before, but she felt the need to.

After a few seconds, she could feel Shuhua loosen up.

Soojin took it as a cue and started to move her lips slowly against the other's soft own.

They kept the pace for a while, but the blonde decided to turn it up a notch when she still felt the two men's presence.

Without a warning, she trailed her palm from the younger's cheek to her nape and pulled her closer. She then tilted her head slightly for a better angle and deepened their kiss.

Shuhua's mouth opened slightly, her breath hitching at the sudden turn of events. That didn't stop Soojin though.

She continued to move her lips in a way that made Shuhua felt weak on her knees. She's sure that if Soojin wasn't holding her still, she would probably use all her strength to keep herself standing.

The council member yelped when Soojin suddenly took her bottom lip between her own and gently nibbled on it.

Shuhua didn't know how, but with the moan dying to break through her throat, she felt assured that Soojin is indeed well aware of what she's doing.

The two of them only pulled away from each other when Shuhua pushed the blonde off, trying to catch her breath.

Panicking, Soojin looked around for the two men. She sighed in relief as she was greeted by an empty lawn.

"Are you okay?" Soojin managed to ask in between her huffs. Shuhua only rolled her eyes.

"After you kissed me until I nearly passed out? Absolutely not," Shuhua struggled to answer. Soojin chuckled.

"You looked like you enjoyed it, though," Soojin raised a brow, smirking.

"In your dreams, Seo Soojin,"

The two were silent for a moment, mainly because they were catching their breaths. That was until Soojin brought something up.

"I didn't know someone still drinks grape juice in a party,"

Shuhua paused and quickly turned to Soojin with a shocked face, who only taunted her more by laughing.

"SEO SOOJIN!"

Soojin groaned as she went in contact with the leather couch. She raised her arm and rested it on top of her eyes, covering them.

Shortly, she peeked over to glance at her friends. Yuqi already passed out on her bed, all sprawled out like a starfish. Miyeon, on the other hand, fell asleep on Yuqi's enormous bean bag, also knocked out.

The blonde sighed and closed her eyes once more.

Out of nowhere, she remembered what happened a few hours ago in Yuqi's backyard.

The blonde involuntarily snorted and shook her head. She still couldn't believe it, but she's glad that she interfered before something serious could happen.

Just then, an image of Shuhua blushing madly popped into her mind. This withdrew a louder chuckle from Soojin.

Let's just say that she can't wait to piss the council member off by teasing her on and on about it.


	5. Chapter Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the party.

"Hey! Are you even listening to me?"

Soojin looked up from her phone. "What?"

Yuqi sighed.

Soojin ignoring her is an everyday routine, but it can sure be too damn exhausting. There was a time when she had already blurted an essay's worth of speech, and as she was expecting an answer— she turns to Soojin, only to see the blonde indulged in her world of media afterward.

The Chinese turned to Miyeon, flicking her head in the blonde's direction. Miyeon gave her a displeased face but obliged anyway.

"As Yuqi was saying two minutes ago..." Miyeon cleared her throat. "Do you have a prom date yet?"

Soojin's brows knitted together. "Me? Prom?" Soojin pointed at herself. Yuqi nodded.

"Yeah. Why? Don't tell me you're planning to skip this year's prom too?"

Soojin looked at her mirthlessly before shaking her head, attention once again seized by her buzzing gadget.

"Seriously, you are so lame. Why are you avoiding proms anyway?" Yuqi questioned.

"I'm not avoiding them, Song,"

"Then why?" Miyeon butted in.

"I just don't want to, okay? Now stop pestering me about it," Soojin growled.

"Just this once!"

The blonde ignored them and continued tapping on her phone. For the past several minutes, she had been flirting with some random girl who slipped in her DMs after the party last night. It isn't anything out of the ordinary though. She does it merely for fun and enjoys it until she bores out of it.

"If what's bothering you is the partner thing, then let's just attend without partners! You can just ditch the guys and enjoy with us, Soojin," Miyeon interfered her thoughts with an offer. The blonde sighs again.

"I'm just not... interested in it, okay? It's a waste of time..." And just before Yuqi could ram words to her for the negative remarks, she faced the younger and said— "...in my opinion," 

Miyeon patted Yuqi's head, mouthing at her to just let Soojin be and that she'll handle it. With a huff, the younger continued to sweep the floor, a little aggressively this time, though.

"You won't know unless you try," Miyeon started. "Who knows? You might find someone you'll like and get _pixie-dusted_ ,"

Soojin frowned and spun her head to the brunette, who already had continued her business.

"Pixie what..?" She mumbled to herself, trying to figure out what the older meant with the odd term.

'What the fuck is _pixie dust_?'

"Seo Soojin! Stop daydreaming on my couch! Get your ass up and mop the floor!"

  
  


  
"Soojin-shii!"

Soojin stopped from her tracks and spun around, curious.

A boy dashed to her, kneeling right before he stumbles in front of her.

"P-Please accept this..!" He then stretched his shaky arms up, unveiling the heart-shaped box he had hidden behind his back.

The blonde examined him— he was much shorter, probably close to a head difference. He had glasses on and the typical good boy bowl cut.

The little guy looked awfully red though— as if he is about to explode at any moment because of how flushed he was.

Nevertheless, she took the box from his hands and with a small smile, lifted the lid off. As expected, there were small pieces of chocolates framing the shape of the box, but what she didn't expect was the note that bulged out in the middle.

"W-Will you be my prom date?"

The blonde breathed heavily.

She should've seen this coming. After all, prom is just a month away.

Carefully tucking the lid back in, she gave the boy an apologetic smile before handing it back to him.

"I'm sorry,"

"O-Oh," The boy stammered, probably too shocked to function.

Who would want to be _rejected_ by Seo Soojin, anyway?

But still, he should've known about Soojin's tradition of not attending school proms, not only that but also the fact that she is absolutely way out of his league.

She turned back around to go on her way but paused again when she heard the boy say— "Y-You can take the chocolates!"

Soojin looked over her shoulder,

"I don't eat chocolate,"

  
"WHAT!? SOOJIN KISSED YOU AGA—"

At a speed of light, Shuhua sprung up from her seat, almost slapping the older's mouth closed.

"BE QUIET!"

Minnie didn't oblige. Instead, she continued yelling while trying to swat Shuhua's hand away. The Taiwanese forcefully kept the blonde's mouth shut, trying her best to convert her words into muffled nothings.

"I won't let go until you calm down!" Shuhua warned.

To Shuhua's relief, Minnie's breathing started to calm down. With an _'okay'_ sign, the blonde surrendered. Shuhua eyed her cautiously before slowly loosening her grip.

Right when Shuhua's hand retracted from the blonde's mouth, Minnie grasped her wrist quickly.

"HOW!? WHEN!? WHY DID SHE DO IT!? DO I NEED TO GO AND RAID HER!?"

"UNNIE, KEEP IT DOWN!"

Shuhua tried to cover her mouth again with her free hand. Minnie noticed and quickly caught it. The younger groaned, trying to pull her arms away, but Minnie's grip was ridiculously tight. All Shuhua's left with is to try and soothe the older with words.

It took a while, but with a few pleads and puppy looks, Minnie finally decided to cooperate.

She explained.

"Two guys tried to mob you at the party..?" Shuhua nodded.

"Then Soojin appeared and saved you?" Shuhua nodded again.

"Yeah, very much so. We tried to act out as lovers but they doubted us, so Soojin kissed me..." Shuhua added, unconsciously reddening up as her mind replayed the scene of Soojin pulling her close as she kissing her in a way Shuhua never believed possible.

The kiss definitely isn't out of passion, but it still made her feel something in her stomach. She didn't know what it is, but it felt a bit _nice_.

Too bad Shuhua would never admit that.

Minnie sighed, both in relief and worry. The blonde turned to Shuhua, just eyeing her plainly. Shuhua quickly grasped what the stare was about and smiled reassuringly.

"I'm okay, unnie. Don't worry,"

The blonde only let out another sigh. Minnie looked unsure, but she smiled anyway. She patted Shuhua's head.

"That's good to know,"

The school bell finally rang, and in a specific hallway, Shuhua's groans were heard.

The council member has been carrying a heavy bag of books throughout her journey to Soojin's assigned detention room. And when she says it isn't the best idea in the world, it surely isn't. God, she even almost felt like dying.

Just when she could turn from a hall to another, she overheard voices, one of the two familiar to her.

_"Soojin-sii, p-please be my prom partner!"_

_"No, thank you,"_

_"W-Wha—?"_

_"I have to be somewhere, so do carry on your way,"_

The hall went silent for a moment before heavy footsteps came crashing down the tiled surface.

She almost yelped in surprise when a teary guy ran past her.

Her eyes didn't fail to spot the bouquet of roses and multiple chocolates he had in hand. Even though his fast steps led him farther from the council member, she could still hear his sobs before they eventually faded away.

She turned to the hall and saw the cause, Seo Soojin herself, with her back facing her, walking casually as if she didn't just hurt someone's feelings.

"That was harsh,"

Jolting a bit, Soojin looked over her shoulder, their gazes locking. "What was?"

"You," Soojin raised a brow.

"How so?"

Shuhua rolled her eyes, frustrated at how clueless Soojin was.

"You could've just rejected him a little more politely. If you only saw how sad he was,"

"That's his own fault," Soojin started. "Him crying about a simple rejection just means that he's not mature enough to handle it," She continued.

Shuhua could only heave a heavy breath. Soojin does have a point. Rejection isn't something to cry about, sure. But still, the blonde had her own part.

The council member shuffled closer to Soojin, not without struggling a bit because of her heavy darn bag. When in front, she faced the older and said—

"You're right. But what I was trying to say is that you could've been nicer with words, Soojin. He looked very sincere, and that he liked you a lot. Imagine hearing such cold words from someone you like... It would hurt, right?"

Shuhua's voice was calm and composed for she didn't want Soojin to feel like she's scolding her for a choice she made on her own.

The blonde looked into Shuhua's eyes. Her gaze lingered for a bit before groaning lowly, rolling her eyes back forth.

"Whatever," The blonde muttered before walking away.

Soojin arrived in the room first. She went inside before popping her head out, smirking at the still struggling Shuhua.

"You have exactly fifteen seconds left before you're late! You wouldn't want me to get thirty minutes off today's detention again, yes?" Soojin poked her tongue out before disappearing back inside, closing the door on her.

"SEO SOOJIN!"

And that's when a fuming Shuhua finalized her choice of adding Soojin's ever so despised _academy service_ as her penalty.

  
With an exhausted groan, Miyeon pulled the door open and stepped out of her classroom. She left last because of another group meeting. Their professor had assigned them to present a skit, but wait for it— in _ENGLISH_.

The brunette absolutely hated it.

She wasn't an expert nor knowledgeable with the language. The last thing she would want is to embarrass herself in the middle of an audience because of poor performance.

Yuqi, being the genius she is despite her reckless personality, was actually one of her options. She heard the Chinese speak English before in multiple school events and some random occurrences.

Yuqi spoke well, of course. She studied the language, after all. She could ask for help, but the girl already had a lot in hand for participating in extra-curricular activities and other club events.

Miyeon could sneak in the younger's schedule and ask her for a little tutoring, but she didn't wanna make things harder for her. Besides, a little help isn't near enough to at least make her pronunciations understandable. It would just be a waste of time.

"Well, I guess it is what it is,"

With practiced steps, she set her route. She crossed and turned a few staircases and hallways before arriving in front of two huge doors.

Her eyes landed on the plaque stuck on the side, _Auditorium._

It's been her routine to stop by the auditorium after school. You could call it her sanctuary or whatever of the same sort.

After making sure the coast was clear, she opened the doors and slipped in.

She went straight to the stage. She dropped her bag, emitting an echoed thug before plopping herself down, sighing.

"A little singing wouldn't hurt, right?" Miyeon breathed out. "I've been doing it all the time, anyway," She continued.

The brunette cleared her throat, readying herself.

Just before a word could escape her lips, she heard _sobs_.

She immediately stood up, her eyes searching the area.

"Is someone there?"

Miyeon frowned. _No answer._

Odd. She could still hear the lingering whimpers.

"Hello?"

Again, _no answer._

_'Maybe I'm just hearing things,'_ Miyeon thought, shrugging.

She was about to continue her thing when the sobs grew a bit louder. Slowly, she tracked where the voice came from. It eventually led her to the stage's side exit.

Miyeon gulped, a little scared. The sob was only a curtain away.

With a little thought, she decided to brush her thoughts away and just see what it was.

Slowly, she grabbed on the material and pulled it to the side.

Her eyes instantly widen at what was before her.

"I-I," She stuttered.

_'It's that blonde student council member!'_ She exclaimed in her thoughts.

The other heard her stammer and quickly faced her, surprised. The blonde then realized, wiping her tear-stained cheeks. It was useless for new tears came streaming down.

"A-Are you okay?"

Minnie hesitated to look at her. She was too embarrassed.

"Y-Yes... Please, don't speak of this to anyone. F-Forget what you saw,"

The blonde started to walk away when Miyeon's instincts led her to grab the other's wrist, preventing her from advancing farther. Taken aback, Minnie looked back at Miyeon and then her tight grip.

The brunette fished something out of her blazer pocket— a _blue_ handkerchief. She lets go of the other to fold the cloth properly before handing it to Minnie.

"Wanna sit down and talk about it?" She asked, smiling warmly at the student council member.

"There's no need to—"

"Your tears say otherwise," She cut her off.

She could see the blonde hesitate. So she quickly added— "I won't tell anyone,"

They shared a gaze.

Despite the blonde's cold eyes, she could see her need for comfort. She can also tell that the other was testing her honesty. So she decided to show it.

"I promise," 

  
"I see..."

"I messed up badly, didn't I?"

"No," 

Minnie frowned at the response. It clearly wasn't the answer she was expecting. She gave the brunette a questioning look, but she just smiled.

"No, you didn't," Miyeon repeated. "In fact, you didn't do anything wrong,"

The blonde was confused for a second before chuckling lightly, "You do know that it's bad to comfort others with lies, right?"

"I do,"

"Then why—"

"I told you," Miyeon started. "It isn't your fault, okay?"

The other remained unresponsive. The brunette sighed, tilting a little to face the blonde before looking at her with a strong gaze.

"It wasn't your fault that the two guys suddenly showed up out of nowhere. Both of you didn't call for it. Nobody did. You were thinking of her, that's why you let her have her time for herself. You cared for her comfort, so despite wanting to have her there with you to have fun, you gave her a break. You didn't intend anything to happen. If it's anyone's fault, it's those two guys. No one else,"

Minnie couldn't say a word. She could feel the other's sincerity through both her eyes and voice.

"The fact that you're devastated about what happened says enough. You never wanted anything to happen to your friend," Miyeon added, her eyes curving along with her lips.

The brunette then giggled at her frozen state. "Did I convince you enough?"

The blonde looked down, still a little taken aback. 

"Yeah... I-I guess,"

Miyeon smiled again.

Minnie thought that smiling fitted the other a lot. Aside from already being pretty, her smile just accentuated her beauty.

"No problemo!"

They talked for a bit before finally deciding to end the day. Both of them stood up.

"You're friends with Soojin... I can trust you not to tell her, right?"

"Haven't I already assured you that I won't tell anyone?"

Minnie chuckled lightly. "Right, sorry,"

She then realized. "I'll wash this then give it to you tomorrow, is that fine?" Minnie asked.

Miyeon shook her head.

"You can keep it! I have more than five of those anyway,"

"More than five?? Isn't that too much?"

"I like blue, okay!?" Miyeon frowned.

After a short silence, the two broke a chuckle.

"Okay, fine. I'll keep this then,"

Minnie didn't want to end it without thanking the brunette so she took a deep breath, gathering courage.

"Hey,"

"Hmm?" The brunette hummed.

"T-Thank you for today, I mean it," She muttered but was audible enough for Miyeon to hear. Miyeon smiled.

"You're welcome...?" Miyeon prolonged, hinting for a name. Minnie caught up and smiled.

"Minnie Yontarak. My real name is Nicha, but call me Minnie. You?"

"Cho Miyeon. Call me Miyeon,"

With a few more exchanges and a goodbye wave. Minnie went on her way and left the auditorium.

The blonde breathed, feeling so much lighter than when she first entered the room.

She opened her palm, revealing the creased handkerchief. Minnie could feel how wet it is. Did she cry that much? Damn.

The council member just sighed and tugged a small smile, her eyes still on the handkerchief.

_'She likes blue too, huh?'_

With a light snort, she buried the cloth into her pocket and continued on her way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you seen HWAA? If not, then what are you waiting for!? >=( 
> 
> Support our girls' new music! They've been so happy these days for breaking records >///< I'm happy because they're happy hehe.


	6. Chapter Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new week.

"Just when are you gonna stop peeping on the poor guy, Yeh Shuhua?"

The younger council member had been admiring her crush through the window for the past ten minutes. It grew on the younger as a newly found routine, that once the clock strikes twelve, you'll see her leaning against a window that had an ample view of the soccer field— just mindlessly watching a specific player running around and kicking the ball whenever it lands on his feet.

Even so, despite her arrow-shot heart for the soccer player, her spectating depends on her schedule. Watching Dohyun's every play sounded like a great deal, but she's also the most workaholic person she can be.

Minnie scratched her nape, heaving a few sighs then and there. Shuhua sure is taking her time. She wouldn't be surprised if honey started to drip out of her eyes because of how lovingly she looks at him.

"YES!" Minnie jolted as the younger yelled out of the blue.

Shuhua turned to her for the first time within the last ten minutes.

"Unnie! He scored another goal! Dohyun scored a goal! Oh my god— If only you saw how cool he looked when he kicked the ball!" Shuhua's high-pitched voice filled the empty council room.

Minnie rolled her eyes.

"Oh, you lovesick bird." The older muttered. "Okay, enough watching!"

Minnie shuffled to where Shuhua was. She wrapped her fingers around the younger's slender wrist and tugged her away from the window. Shuhua pouted.

"Just a few more minutes! They just need to score one more for the game to end!"

Minnie shook her head, shooting a strict look in her direction. "No, our meeting starts in five minutes. You can't let them see you creepily spying on a student from the council windows, do you?"

Shuhua spun to her, the blonde's remark hitting home as the younger's cheeks started to burn bright red. "I am not creepily spying on him! I'm just admiring him from afar!"

"Oh, are you?"

"Unnie, I really wasn't!" Minnie exhaled, obviously not buying whatever protest Shuhua threw at her. Shuhua's reactions are way too giving for her to lie anyway.

"Ugh, fine!"

Giving up, Shuhua huffed loudly, stomping away from the window with closed fists and heavily plopped herself down on her designated chair. She almost resembled a grumpy child when candy-less.

Minnie chuckled at her friend's antics. She followed suit, sitting on her chair and waited patiently for the arrival of the other council members.

-

"Shuhua, why were you drinking grape juice at a par—"

"Soojin." Shuhua said thickly.

Soojin had been trying to squeeze the other night in through abrupt conversations, and Shuhua obviously wasn't having any of it.

Shuhua could tell that it's one of the blonde's schemes. The ones that would annoy her until contented and leave her fuming by the end of the hour.

However, it seemed like Soojin had other plans today. And that was to push Shuhua to her limit.

It's working it's way there, by the way.

"What? I was just asking?" Soojin feigned innocence.

"As you all said... _ask us student council members and we'll try to help you out as much as we can_ ," Soojin remembered their council motto, dictating it with extra emphasis.

Instead of walking right into the older's trap, Shuhua listened to the angel on her shoulder and took steady breaths. She continued organizing the files on her table, ignoring the blonde in front of her.

Unfortunately for her, Soojin saw it coming, and she isn't just gonna back up like that. 

"Aww, come on. I'm just curious, that's all. Besides, you seemed like you had a _lot_ of it, because I could definitely taste it when I was kissing yo—"

Shuhua slammed her hands down on her desk, not minding how it might've wrinkled a few papers or how red her palms might be.

What's bugging her mind though, is how much her face is probably burning up right now.

"Seo Soojin." Shuhua repeated, a bit more sternly this time.

"What?"

"We're not talking about that."

"Talk about what exactly? The grape juice part or the kissi—"

"I swear to god, Soojin," Shuhua breathed heavily, trying calm herself. "Just... Let's not mention anything regarding that night, okay?"

"But why? It's just a kiss," Soojin smirked.

"Perhaps, is it because you're embarrassed? I mean, it's only your second kiss... right?"

Now that made Shuhua buffer like never before. She stood there, frozen in shock.

How could Soojin possibly know such a secretive information about her?

"O-Of course not! What are you talking about?" Shuhua faked a laugh. She tried to sound convincing, but her laughs came out as dull as a robot.

Soojin sly grin widened. "You can act all unbothered... but you really can't lie, can you?"

"I-I..." Shuhua continued to redden, if it was humanly possible. She wouldn't be surprised if she looked as red as a ripe tomato right now.

The sight fed Soojin's delight. She chuckled lightly, finding it fun to have a school pet wrapped around her slender finger. She never thought it was possible, but now that it happened, she could get used to it.

"Come on. You can't lie now, Shuhua-sii." 

Shuhua gritted her teeth, feeling displeased with how much Soojin had control over her. From this day forward, she officially claimed her title of being the most difficult student Shuhua has ever handled.

"Okay, I give up! Are you happy?" She gritted.

She would look terrifying right now, but the leftover hues of her prior heavy blushing got the best of her.

Soojin only grinned. She felt a little more relaxed all of the sudden, resulting to her leaning back, resting herself against the frame of the chair with her arms crossed on her chest.

"I didn't expect to find myself kissing a student council member, but here I am, having claimed your lips twice." She then smirked, pointing at Shuhua's lips before placing the tip of the same finger on her own.

The council member continued to glare at the blonde, her teeth visibly clashing against each other. Soojin raised a brow, just like how she usually does it when she's in the mood to tease the hell out of Shuhua.

"Shut up," Shuhua muttered, calming herself down before going back to organizing the files on her desk.

"Chill out, council member," Soojin started. "As I've said— It's just a kiss, no biggie. You can't possibly be mad at me for stealing your first kiss, aren't you?"

Now that's just Soojin pushing her button. Having enough, Shuhua abruptly stood up from her seat.

The blonde flinched at the sudden movement. She watched as Shuhua paced until she's right in front of her, all with a stony expression painted on her face.

Soojin involuntarily gulped. This isn't turning out like how she planned it to be.

"Okay, since kissing strangers don't seem to mean anything to you... Let me ask you this again," Shuhua placed her hands on Soojin's desk, leaning a bit as she looked down at her.

"Why did you kiss me?" She said, almost breathed out. She grasped onto her strong gaze, making sure to corner the blonde with them.

"W-What do you mean? You almost got harassed by those guys. Of course, I'll do what I can—"

"Stop acting dumb, Seo Soojin."

The blonde stammered, unable to completely get a grip of herself. Just a few seconds ago she had the younger under her control, how could it flip so quickly on her?

"I meant the one in the comfort room. Why?" Shuhua specified, leaning slightly closer as she did.

Soojin had questions of her own. Such as how can someone who was embarrassed of a kiss just seconds ago gain so much confidence to pin her down on a chair so suddenly? And not to mention, for the second time? She'd figure it out, but there was no time for that. Not when Shuhua is this close.

The blonde's heart skipped a beat when Shuhua cut the gap severely shorter, making the tip of their noses graze lightly against each other.

Shuhua placed her hand on Soojin's exposed neck. Soojin quivered at the contact. She could feel her breathing's pace step a notch when Shuhua traced an index finger along her jaw, tracing the defined frame and then claiming its ground behind her ear.

It's all a familiar scene. Just like the one when Shuhua announced her penalties for their first kiss.

Soojin looked up and found herself caught in another trap of Shuhua's deep pools. The only difference was this time, they appeared deeper, as if wanting to drown her more.

Getting the hint of what Shuhua wanted, she surrendered and closed her eyes, attempting to put an end to what's left with the tiny cleft in between them.

She leaned in, but just when she could collide and feel Shuhua's lips against hers again, a thumb pressed her slightly opened lips, pushing it away gently.

The blonde's eyes popped open, confused.

They were still close, so Soojin felt Shuhua's light sigh against her skin right before she pulled away.

"You could've just told me rather than doing such a thing. It's rude, you know?" Shuhua claimed, crossing her arms at her.

Confused at the sudden remark, she opened her mouth to ask. "Wait, wha—"

"Seriously, Seo Soojin. That's absolutely not romantic! It's impolite!" Shuhua continued.

"But even If you didn't do that, I don't think I would've accepted your _feelings_. Sorry, It's just... you aren't really my type, and I already like someone else."

Soojin's eyes almost jumped out of its sockets once she heard a very unwelcomed word. She blinked.

"Wait, hold on right there," Soojin raised a hand. "Did you just say feelings?"

Shuhua eyed her innocently before nodding. "Yes. Didn't you do that because you liked me in the first place? I mean, you were so down to kiss me just now so I thought—"

Soojin choked, completely swallowed by disbelief because of the words that just left Shuhua's mouth.

Did Shuhua just think that Soojin liked her? In a romantic way? Just because she gave in to what she think Shuhua wanted? 

"Are you okay—"

Shuhua stretched her arm to pat the older's back, but before she could, Soojin grabbed her wrist, stopping her from doing so. She wouldn't want the younger to mistake anything further than she did right now.

"I'm fine. But look, Shuhua..." She slowly let go of her hand.

"I don't feel anything like that for you,"

-

"Holy shit..." Minnie cursed, covering her mouth. "You thought she liked you!?"

Feeling incredibly ashamed, Shuhua nodded slowly, and right after, whining and almost banging her head down the cafeteria table. She had never felt so embarrassed her whole life. If she had a chance, she'd just run off and hide under a rock. Will she come back out again? Probably never.

Her dearest friend then let out a rich laugh, earning a deadly glare from the younger.

"Seriously? You're laughing at me right now?"

"I can't help it! It's so funny—" She continued to laugh, unable to hold herself.

"I hate you so much! You should be comforting me right now!"

"I'm sorry, I—"

"Minnie! Shuhua!" They turned to a familiar voice calling them out so agitatedly.

Rushing to them, was a mutual friend from the council— Sorn. She looked like she's bearing a very big news, guessing from the ear-to-ear grin on her face.

"HEY! HEY! HEY! YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS! ESPECIALLY YOU, SHUHUA!" Sorn said out loud, garnering the attention from the nearest several tables.

"Hey, calm down!" Shuhua shushed.

"What is it?" Minnie asked, curious.

Sorn tried to speak as properly as she could, but in the end, she only blurted out unknown words, mixed in with heavy breaths.

Minnie frowned. "What?"

"Dohyun—!" Sorn barely breathed out, still gasping from her long run to the cafeteria.

Now, that caught Shuhua's full attention. She immediately held Sorn's hands, her eyes opened with anticipation.

"What about Dohyun, unnie?"

Taking a deep breath, she faced Shuhua.

"Dohyun is asking you out for prom!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soyeon will make her appearance in this story on the seventh or eighth chapter!


	7. Chapter Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another day.

"No thank you."

Soojin had lost count of how many times those same exact words had left her mouth since the start of the week.

She's been getting confessions left and right, mostly to have her hand for the long-awaited prom night.

Soojin found it irritating, and troublesome in the vastest ways.

Other than having to guts to think that they had a chance with her, she wondered what their reason was for still trying to get on with someone who obviously didn't like them the same way. Why waste such efforts?

The blonde didn't know the answer to that question. Maybe she did, but she can never in a million years understand why it's even worth a place in one's choices. It's just plain stupidity in the form of flattering gestures with determined endeavors.

Soojin walked away. She could hear the boy's whiny calls for her to just wait and listen to what he has to say, but she knew that it's not worth her time. She already heard those words from one and another. Soojin figured she heard enough, at least just for the day.

-

"The bulletin boards?"

"Updated," Shuhua replied.

"The schedule for the month's club events?"

"Got that too,"

"The lists of administrators and organizers of every club for their respective programs? Done as well?"

"Done," Shuhua then shot a small smile.

Yeeun, the girl sitting before her with a pen and a clipboard in hand, checked the last box on a pinned sheet before settling the board down the table. She smiled at Shuhua warmly.

"Good job, Shuhua. I knew I could always count on my Secretary."

"Don't mention it, unnie." She grinned then handed the folder that consisted of everything the girl had asked from her.

"Here. I've tripled checked, so I can assure you everything's there."

The woman then stood up, patting the younger's head before taking the folder.

"I'll go ahead and meet with the club presidents now then. You did well, so go on and rest,"

Shuhua was glad to hear those words, but she realized something and sighed. Yeeun noticed.

"Oh, my bad. You still have to attend that girl's detention, huh? Who was she? Was it Seojin? or maybe Soobin? Su—"

"Soojin. Seo Soojin." Shuhua corrected.

"Yeah, her. She's a bit of a pain from the things I've heard. Is everything going well?" Yeeun asked, concerned.

Shuhua pressed her lips together into a small smile. She nodded.

"I'm curious, though. What's the cause of this one-month detention, I heard? It's been a while since we had that. Perhaps, did she get a nerve?" She asked.

As if every word of it triggers a button in her— her face started to heat up. Her mind rolling the tapes back and pressing play at the moment when Soojin's lips dominated her chaste ones. Not once but twice at that.

Once realized that it isn't the right time to be all flustered over the same bothersome flashbacks, Shuhua shoved the thoughts away.

"Let's just say she stole something precious from me."

-

  
"Yuqi can't come again?"

Miyeon nodded. "Yeah, she's on another meeting for the singing club right now."

"That kid sure is busy these days." The blonde replied, looking out the window and watching the rustling leaves of a nearby tree.

"I'll be busy too," said Miyeon. She took a bite of the cafeteria burger. "I might not be able to accompany you starting tomorrow for a week or so."

"Why?"

"Have you forgotten that I'm one of the leads for an upcoming play? Or did you just not listen?"

It took the blonde a few seconds to recollect the memory of when the woman had shared her head-aching English play with her. She wasn't completely listening, but she remembered the important part, at least.

"Oh, that," Soojin muttered, her attention not shifting even after the older groaned out of utmost displeasure.

"Wait—" The older suddenly stopped her whines. She looked at Soojin, who curiously glanced back at her. "You'll be all alone then."

"You just realized?"

"Will you be okay?"

The blonde looked at her questioningly, her expression shaped as if she had just offended her. Miyeon immediately took her words back. Of course, Soojin would be just fine. Why did she even ask?

Quickly changing the subject, the brunette cleared her throat.

"I mean... Won't it be too boring for you?"

Soojin took a deep breath. Her friends were her only source of amusement to make it through a whole day of school, so if they can only be with her barely throughout a week or more, then that's something that'll surely bother her.

"See... How about considering that thing we suggested to you before?" Miyeon spoke.

Soojin raised a brow, asking through her cast.

"The dance club. You should probably start thinking of joining. So you know? You'd have better things to do than lurking around the academy all afternoon."

The blonde shook her head. "I'd rather not."

"Why? Don't tell me you're gonna say that—"

"It's a waste of time," Soojin spoke before her.

"You're good at it!"

"I'm not. At least not good enough to join a club for it." 

"Liar," Miyeon frowned. "But that's not what matters. Don't you like to dance?"

Soojin shook her head again. "It's just a hobby. Nothing serious. Plus, I'd rather continue living my peaceful life rather than running around and tiring myself as you guys do."

Miyeon, about to argue back, was stopped when Soojin raised a hand.

"No more. I've drained myself enough for today. Save it for tomorrow." Soojin said and then looked away, eyes once more on the greenery.

Miyeon could only sigh. She wanted to help the other, but she can't do it if Soojin is the one telling her not to. But still, wasn't she supposed to be used to it by now?

"Whatever you say, Seo."

-

Shuhua could feel a groan threatening to scrape her throat dry. Here she is again, making her way to the room she'll be enclosed in for the next hour. Along with the blonde-haired migraine named Soojin, of course.

A whole week had passed since the council member embarked on this month-long adventure, and she couldn't tell if it were for the betterment of the other or for the death of her own patience.

No mistaking it, Shuhua is a very humble and patient person. She knew it herself and the people around her. In fact, the academy's students considered her as the pellet of sugar mixed in with grains of salt, the bitter side obviously being the rest of the academy cabinet. She had originally planned on keeping those traits without exclusions, but a certain Seo just had to wreck it all. 

She wrapped her fingers around the knob and twisted. Once the door opened slightly, she saw the back of Soojin's head.

Tilting her chin up, Shuhua shuffled to her seat. She settled everything down and readied a new set of unchecked test papers she received from Mrs. Park. She divided the stack into two.

"Come here and get half of these papers. We're checking again." The council member ordered.

Shuhua's forehead creased at the lack of response. Thinking that it was one of Soojin's teasing again, she repeated.

"Seo Soojin, get these now, or else I'm delaying your detention for today," said Shuhua, but still to no avail.

Giving up, she shifted her stare to the figure before her. She made sure to equip her coldest glare so the latter knew that it isn't the right time to push her buttons.

That was until she saw a dozing Soojin. She started to hear the older's steady yet soft breathing. Her head was slightly tilted down, and her red lips a little loosened from her sleep. From the way she looked, it seems that she had been sleeping for quite a while.

Sleeping is definitely prohibited during detention hours. Shuhua would wake her up, but now that she had the opportunity, a little studying wouldn't hurt, right?

Shuhua started taking small steps towards the serene figure. She had her eyes planted on her in the process, trying to examine the girl's features that went unnoticed by her all throughout the past week.

  
The blonde looked harmless— the polar end of what she portrays to the public on a daily basis. If she were to describe the best she could, it would be a little kitty with meows that could melt your heart in an instant.

The council member scoffed, who knew that the bratty _vixen_ could look angelic when asleep?

Shuhua proceeded until she's just about a meter away. She bent herself slightly, her pools brushing against every point her stare had landed on.

It would kill her to admit, but with personal feelings aside, Soojin is indeed pretty. She had a distinct mole below her left eye, a pair of perfectly shaped brows, and cheeks that puff out a little too much for what Shuhua believes a fierce woman would like. She's beautiful, and with a figure like hers, the council member wouldn't wonder why she's always chased after by many.

Just when Shuhua thought it was time to wake the sleeping blonde up, Soojin started to reel out of balance, causing her head to settle its path straight down the wooden armrest.

Reflexively, Shuhua's arm shot out, halting Soojin's fall by only a few more inches.

Soojin woke up when she felt the abrupt contact. Her eyes slowly fluttered open and found themselves caught once more in the younger's deep pools.

Shuhua's hand carried the side of her face. It felt warm and soft, making Soojin want to snuggle her face deeper and dive back into her world of slumber. But she knew all too well that it would never happen, and so would she let it.

She did, however, got carried away by the comfort that she couldn't prevent her head from eventually crashing down the table when Shuhua abruptly retrieved her hand.

"Ow!" Soojin winced, cupping her reddening forehead. She glared at the younger.

"What's up with that!?"

Shuhua rolled her eyes. "It's isn't my fault you failed to catch yourself twice."

Soojin disregarded the sassy remark and instead, continued to rub her forehead, trying to massage the pain away.

"Check these," Shuhua approached her with a small stack of papers in hand.

"What if I don't want to?"

"Then that's your own business," Shuhua repeated and stretched her hand out more, forcing Soojin to take the papers off her hand.

"Detention is not the time for you to doze off, Seo Soojin. If I catch you sleeping one more time, you'll be seeing this room longer than you were supposed to." The council member continued before walking back to her chair, acting too cold to be the same person who saved an unconscious Soojin from headbutting a wooden table.

Soojin growled lowly as she pierced the younger's back with her glares. But in the end, she had no choice but to oblige, and so she did. Not without throwing a little tantrum by flipping the papers a little more loudly than usual. Just for her to end up getting scolded again by the younger.

-

"See you tomorrow!"

Miyeon turned around, smiling. "Yeah, see you!"

Miyeon flailed a small wave and closed the classroom doors behind her. She looked around, in search of any unwanted company. Once seen none, she breathed out her long-kept exasperation.

They had just finished their first script reading, and Miyeon wouldn't say that it went well. For her, at least.

None of them had English as their mother tongue, but despite that, Miyeon thought they did great. Their pronunciations were understandable, and most of them were skilled actors and actresses.

Yet, one of them still managed to stand out, and it just had to be her fellow lead actor, Minhyuk. He delivers every line flawlessly, and it made Miyeon feel incredibly pressured to perform on the same notch.

Miyeon wasn't bad. She knew a decent slice about acting and practiced several words to sound understandable as well. However, with the boulders of standards on her shoulders, it just made her seem worse than she thought she was.

Feeling absolutely drained and stressed at the same time, Miyeon exhaled. "Auditorium it is."

It didn't take long for her practiced steps to find the Auditorium. She'd normally check around before barging in, but she didn't care much right now, not with her mind and body's current state. Miyeon doubts anyone would stay around this long after dismissals anyway.

Closing the doors behind her, she eyed the large stage. Miyeon missed singing on top of one. It's been a while since she felt the nerve-wracking yet fulfilling feeling of beholding her voice to an audience. She's confident of her voice, and what she could do with it.

On the other hand, her mother had always seen her as an actress. She was told that she had the face for it, and with a few more tweaks, she'd have the talent as well. Her mother had suggested it a few times but never forced her into it. Miyeon felt grateful and had decided to pursue achieving her dream as a singer.

But everything went downhill when her mother got diagnosed with a life-threatening disease. She had to stay in the hospital from then on, and Miyeon would visit her every weekend to check how she's doing.

Miyeon felt devastated when she heard of the news. She fell down her knees, crying in fear at the thought that she'll leave her without even giving Miyeon a chance to return all the things she had done for her. And so, that's how she concluded that she'll give the other path a try and that she'll work hard for it to become a reality.

She didn't want it, but she'd learn how to, just for her mother.

She ran up the short flight of stairs and dropped her things.

Miyeon might be onto a different track now, but that wouldn't stop her from singing. Even just to herself.

Miyeon took a deep breath and started to sing. She pours every emotion she feels when singing, it's a form of stress relief, and it made her singing feel a little deeper from the heart as well.

Miyeon could hear the echoes of her own voice, and it reminded her of the empty line of chairs. Normally, it would sting to know, but she's been through it ever since she took her mother's suggestion into consideration. It felt common and bearable. She got used to it.

Finally, her song came to an end. Her chest was heaving as she tried to catch her breath. When done, she opened her eyes.

Again, a non-existent audience. She heard clapping, but that must've been her imagination. She's all alone.

Or was she?

Miyeon froze as she heard the clapping again, this time clearer and louder. It came from the side. She faced the direction of the anonymous claps.

"So you sing, huh?"

Miyeon's eyes almost left their sockets once she saw the same blonde from before, Minnie. Minnie was by the staircase up the stage. She had a smile on her face.

She watched as the foreigner walked up the stairs and stopped in front of her. Minnie's eyes turned crescents once chuckles escape.

"You look surprised. Don't worry, you sounded amazing."

Miyeon reddened up, her heart glitching at the warm words she just received. It's the first time someone other than her friends complimented her singing. She didn't know Minnie well, but her smile looked too genuine for jokes.

"Still shocked?" said Minnie.

"I-I'm sorry, I spaced out!" Miyeon stuttered, scratching her nape and looking elsewhere.

Minnie's smile sapped. Judging from the other's seemingly uncomfy reaction, she thought that she might've unintentionally crossed a line.

"Oh, sorry. Am I supposed to not hear that? I'll go no—"

"No!" Miyeon said swiftly. Minnie jolted slightly at how abrupt her reply was. The older saw and looked down in embarrassment.

She cleared her throat. "No, it's okay." Miyeon smiled.

Minnie smiled back, though she still feels a little sorry. Miyeon sounded exceptionally great. Her voice sounded like diving down a pool of feathers— so soft and soothing. She wanted to ask her about this talent, but she believes she made Miyeon uncomfortable enough.

"Anyway... I guess you come here often."

"Yup, it's my favorite room in the academy," Miyeon answered. "How about you? Do you come here often as well? I haven't seen you once other than before and now though?" She continued.

"I don't, actually," said Minnie. "But I might from now on If ever I long for silence. I won't mind a singing Miyeon, don't worry," Both of them laughed at Minnie's comment.

"If only it's fine for you?" Minnie asked, knowing that the other had claimed the ground long before her.

Miyeon's smiled and shook her head. "No, I don't mind at all. But, shouldn't you be the one to mind though?"

Minnie gave her a confused look.

"You're a student council member, and I'm just a student sneaking in without a permit." Miyeon said. "Shouldn't you be reporting me?"

The blonde contemplated for a bit. She should be doing her job, but Miyeon looked like she didn't mean any harm. She looked too pure for that.

Minnie grinned.

"If you won't report me for doing the same, then I won't,"

Laughs from the two soon filled the empty Auditorium. They shared a gaze, both with the same thought in mind.

"Deal."

-

"Hey, hold up!"

Elkie yelled from the end of one hallway. She groaned when the figure she was calling out for still continued to walk away. As if she hadn't heard her.

Giving up, she chased after the student. She grasped the girl's shoulders and spun her around. Elkie rolled her eyes once she spotted the girl with blasting earphones. No wonder she hadn't heard her.

"Hey, Jeon Soyeon! I've been yelling at you! Can you take those things off for just a minute!?"

Soyeon, a petite girl with a rivaling foxy face, pulled the wires of her earphones. "What did you say, unnie?"

Elkie breathed, reminding herself to calm down. "Whatever, forget that." She held the girl's hands.

"I have something to ask you,"

Soyeon looked at her questioningly. "What is it?"

"My birthday is coming up, remember?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"What else? I'm inviting you!" Elkie said cheeringly.

Soyeon squinted her eyes. "I'll come, but it depends. Where are you planning to celebrate?"

"It was supposed to be on the club down the street, but I heard that there's a newly opened one just a few blocks away!"

The shorter frowned. "Club? You wanna party again? Didn't we just attend one last weekend?"

"Oh, come on, don't be a kill joy!" Elkie said.

"You know I'm not fond of partying,"

"Don't act like I didn't catch you on the DJ booth before!"

"I only went to that party because I was told I would be the DJ and play the pioneer, that's that. I didn't even drink." Soyeon reasoned.

Elkie rolled her eyes but soon shot the girl a pleading look.

"Please?"

Soyeon tried to protest a few times. But in the end, she sighed and gave up. "Fine,"

Elkie jumped around the hall in delight, earning weirded stares from a few students.

"Okay, all that's left is Shuhua and Minnie," Elkie murmured, but she heard it well.

"The two from last weekend?"

Elkie hummed as she nodded. She looked at Soyeon. "Did you three get along at the party?"

"Yeah, they were fine," Soyeon said.

Elkie smiled warmly. "That's good to know."

Soyeon didn't reply. She isn't a girl of words, after all.

"Anyway, I gotta run. You know when my birthday is right? I'll text the details! Bye!" Elkie waved.

Soyeon waved back. Once the brunette disappeared around the corner, she took her earphones out again and randomly selected a song. Soyeon isn't the type to frequently spend time outside, but since it's for a friend, she could spare a few hours.

She continued on her way, humming to a few songs on her journey home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To avoid confusions, in this story, Elkie studies on another academy and is schoolmates with Soyeon. They aren't on the same academy as Shuhua's!
> 
> Author's Note: Sorry for the prolonged waiting for an update! I've been busy for the past two weeks! I'll try to update sooner than this. Thank you for waiting patiently!


	8. Chapter Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The scene.

"Okay, that concludes today's meeting, everyone can go," Yeeun announced.

Everyone started tidying their own things, getting ready to leave before the morning bell.

"Hey," Minnie leaned into Shuhua's ear to whisper. Shuhua turned.

"What?"

"Wanna go home together after school?" She asked. Shuhua lifted an eyebrow, a little confused with the sudden invitation, but she nodded.

"Yeah, sure. You're gonna stay?" Shuhua asked. Minnie isn't usually the patient person to wait for her after her hour detention with Soojin.

Minnie just gave her a casual nod. It made Shuhua a bit curious, but that soon dissipated. Perhaps the blonde managed to convince Sorn to keep her company, so she ended up not thinking too much of it.

After waving their council president a goodbye, who had to stay behind for a short while because of an abrupt phone call, the two friends left the room and walked side by side.

"What happened after that?" Shuhua asked, indulged with the story Minnie had randomly initiated amid their walk.

"Well, to start off, my mom didn't think too much of it, but my dad was a little disappointed. For my brothers... they didn't care." Minnie shrugged. "Besides, I know those two secretly got tattoos anyway." She continued, chuckling a little. 

Shuhua bit her lip, frowning a bit as she wonders. "Did it hurt?"

"Hurt?" Minnie raised a brow.

"You know? Getting your lip pierced?"

"Of course, it did," Minnie replied. "But in my case, it's tolerable. I had a few experiences with piercings, so I knew what to expect. It should be worth it if it turned out like what you imagined- Wait..." Minnie paused, her eyes squinted in suspicion as she faced Shuhua.

"Don't tell me you're planning to get one?" She asked with a scolding index finger darting right at the younger. Shuhua immediately raised her two palms and aggressively shook her head.

"No, I wasn't!"

"Don't you lie to me, Yeh Shuhua! I'm not letting you get one!" Minnie exclaimed, cupping the younger's face with her hands.

Just the thought of Shuhua's innocent face with a contrasting accessory made her frown. She knew the younger for years and had always adored her for her pure image and soul. 

Minnie remembered how a simple smile from the Taiwanese would light up the tensest rooms, and how her adorably inexact Korean accent would spark a curve on her lips whenever she hears it. More so if it's said with a high pitch, which usually emits out of Shuhua whenever she's excited.

Now to imagine that with a lip piercing? Minnie couldn't even keep the image in her mind for longer than a second.

Shuhua could only roll her eyes at Minnie's protective side. She acts more strictly than her own mom does.

"I won't get one and wasn't planning on getting one either, unnie. Don't worry!" Shuhua reassured. Minnie squinted her eyes at her again, checking if there were flaws in her claim. She calmed down when she sees none.

"Good. Now, don't ask me more about it. You might end up wanting one if we continue."

"Oh my god. I told you, unnie! I wasn't—"

Shuhua froze when she heard growing murmurs. She could hear many voices topping one another— like a crowd gathered in a single area and whispering inaudible nothings.

"PLEASE! STOP!" The murmurs were silenced with a sharp scream.

That immediately pressed the gas in the two friends. They ran to where the source was, which was a hallway connected to where they were. There, they saw a big circle of students, with bystanders scattered not too far from them.

Minnie was the first to rush to the thick crowd, almost pushing whoever stood in her way. The people pushed aside were still in a slight daze, but when their eyes landed on Shuhua, who shortly followed Minnie from behind, they quickly woke up from their thoughts and realized that student council members had arrived at the scene.

With the last couple of students shoved out, Minnie had witnessed the core of the scene. On the ground were two girls latched on each other, one of them had their fingers deeply threaded through the other's rumpled hair. 

"STOP!" Minnie's loud and piercing voice overshadowed any remaining noises, and soon the two women as well.

Shuhua finally saw the act herself. She wasted no time and ran to them, dropping on her knees to push the fuming one off the other.

"What do you think you're doing!? Stop it!" Shuhua yelled as she helped the crying one up, her gaze burning the other alive.

Despite the angry pair of eyes from the two student council members, the girl stood up from her fall, the intent in her upcoming actions was far from good.

"DON'T THINK YOU CAN TELL ME WHAT TO DO!!" She yelled angrily and charged to Shuhua and the defenseless student.

Shuhua couldn't act as fast with the vulnerable woman clutching and sobbing on her tightly.

_'Fuck.'_ She cursed inwardly. She didn't have any choice but to just brace herself for the impact.

Fortunately, Minnie quickly grasped her scheme and intervened in the student's plans. She bumped her by her side and in the midst of her stumbling off balance, Minnie swiftly took her wrists, locking them in place on her behind. Then, she pressed her against a nearby wall, preventing her from moving any longer.

"Don't you even dare try." Minnie gritted, gripping on her tighter to let her know how serious she was.

"What's happening here!?" Another voice echoed the hallway.

Shuhua turned and saw the Student Council President, none other than Yeeun herself, striding towards them.

"Minnie, explain, please." Yeeun requested once she saw the position the council member and a student were in.

"There was a commotion and we saw this girl attacking the student over there," Minnie pursed her lips at the girl wrapped around Shuhua's arms.

Yeeun nodded, understanding the situation. She smiled warmly at both Shuhua and Minnie before walking up to the blonde. She patted Minnie's tense shoulder.

"You can let go of her now, I'll take it from here," Yeeun said and gave Minnie a reassuring grin.

"Careful, though. This girl is a bit too aggressive, I have to say. She could jump on you." Minnie said, earning a grit from the mentioned girl. Minnie noticed and shushed her up with a tongue click.

Yeeun laughed lightly. "I'd like to see her try."

Minnie smiled, convinced. Of course, no one would dare touch the daughter of the director of one of the most well-known academies in Seoul. They'd have to be the bravest to do so, and even if they are one, Minnie's sure Yeeun could handle a situation like that just fine.

"I'll leave her to you then," She smiled.

Yeeun took hold of the girl, squeezing her tightly to remind her of what fate she'd end up with if she tries to make a move. She noticed the crowd still piled up, so she turned and glared. "Is this some show? Go to your classes!"

Being told enough, the crowd bowed apologetically and hurriedly left the scene.

Minnie strode to Shuhua, who was still comforting the sobbing girl.

"Hey, what's your name?" Minnie asked softly, resting her hands on her knees for support as she leaned down to level with the student.

"Heejin..." The girl murmured.

Minnie smiled and stretched a hand out. "I'm Minnie, now, It's best you go with me so I can take you to the clinic immediately. That gash on your knee isn't looking too good."

Heejin accepted the warm hand and Minnie pulled her up gently, afraid that she'll trigger an aching spot if she moved carelessly.

"I'll take her to the clinic. You can go to your class on your own, right?"

Shuhua gave her a look. "Of course, I can. What am I? Some toddler?" She said as she crossed her arms.

Minnie chuckled. "Just kidding. I'll be off now. See you later!"

Shuhua watched as her friend walked away, disappearing when they turned to another hall.

She was about to leave as well, but she stopped when she heard slow claps behind her.

Shuhua spun around and saw none other than Seo Soojin herself.

"That was noble of you," Soojin smirked.

Shuhua rolled her eyes. It wasn't the right time. Not when she's still driven up from what happened earlier.

"I did what I had to do," Shuhua answered plainly. She started to walk away, but was stopped again when Soojin spoke.

"You could've seen your face. I could tell how mad you were because of how red you looked." Soojin chuckled. "Still, it was cute. Funny, but cute nonetheless."

"That crazy one almost tackled you down, but you didn't let go of her. If I was that Heejin girl, I wonder if you'd defend me like that. I mean, you hate me, don't you?" Soojin smirked.

Turning around again, Soojin saw Shuhua's unamused face.

"Are you done?" Shuhua asked thickly. Soojin's eyebrows furrowed.

"I would defend _anyone_. No one deserves to get hurt. They don't deserve to be watched and gossiped at as they get hurt either." Shuhua replied, making sure the blonde knew what she implied.

"Now, let me ask you the same thing. If you were me, would you run and defend that girl? No, you wouldn't, right? Besides, you just stood in a corner and watched everything happen. And it didn't seem to bother you that you didn't do anything." Shuhua continued.

Soojin stood there, speechless. She wanted to protest, but couldn't do so for Shuhua was stating facts.

Shuhua heaved a heavy breath but it turned into a shaky one because of her angered state.

She didn't want to prolong this for another second, so she looked at Soojin straight in the eye.

"Look, If you're just gonna take advantage of the situation just to have your fun, then shame on you. Not everything should be taken lightly, Soojin. Especially circumstances like this. You should know that by now, but I guess I'll remind you. Now, If you don't have anything else to say, I'm going." Shuhua didn't let her say a word and walked away.

Just when Shuhua left the building, she realized how much she lacked control of herself earlier. She didn't intend to, but she must've kept those thoughts in for so long that she couldn't help blurting them all out at once. Shuhua would be lying if she said she didn't feel at least an inch of guilt, but Shuhua also thinks that the older deserved to hear it.

She walked mindlessly to the main building. She's so hung up in her thoughts that she failed to notice a specific person on the field flailing an arm to catch her attention.

"Hey!"

Shuhua jumped in surprise when Dohyun popped in front of her.

"H-Hey..!" Shuhua stammered, still in shock.

"I've been calling you," Dohyun said as he panted.

"Sorry, I must've been daydreaming," Shuhua muttered, pushing a small smile.

"It's fine. Anyways, just wanted to see how you're doing. I'm gonna go back to the field now. Bye!" Dohyun left with a wave.

Shuhua waved back. Today's conversation was incredibly shorter than usual, but she didn't mind. She couldn't when she's still enveloped with what happened back in the corridor.

With that, she resumed her walk, only fastening her pace when the morning bell chimed.

Oh, how thankful she was that her first class was with Mrs. Kim, who adored her a lot for her face. She found the frequent head patting annoying at times, but that could come in handy at the moment.

-

Minnie clutched on her backpack straps. The last bell had just rung and the very moment she stepped out of her classroom, everything that took place that day just all of the sudden weighted her down. She had never felt so drained in a while.

With the remaining strength she had, she pushed the doors of the Auditorium open. She slipped in and Miyeon instantly greeted her with her usual glowing smile. Minnie smiled back and walked to the stage.

"If it isn't the charming blonde," Miyeon said. Minnie frowned at the odd nickname.

"What was that for?"

"Haven't you heard?" Miyeon asked, her tone excited. "Everyone has been talking about you and your friend!"

"Me? My friend? You mean Shuhua?" Minnie asked. Miyeon answered with a nod.

"I've heard about your _heroic_ moment when you handled that bully this morning!"

Minnie's mouth formed an _'o'_ , finally grasping where the nickname came from.

"I think heroic sounds a bit too much, Miyeon." Minnie chuckled.

"But it is though! I heard how you stopped her from attacking Shuhua and even did some cool things that ended up having her held against a wall! Seriously, don't you find that cool!?" Miyeon asked with a little too much fervor. Minnie found it hilarious and laughed silently as the brunette babbled further.

"You're silly." Minnie shook her head, the smile on her face not leaving.

"It's cool!"

"Yeah, okay, fine. It was cool. You proved it enough." Minnie tried to calm the other down.

The two talked for a short while. Miyeon, yet again, tried to squeeze her _'heroic'_ moment in, and Minnie somewhat found it adorable whenever Miyeon did so. Still, she figured they talked enough about that and would always playfully scold Miyeon whenever she tries to bring it up.

"What's that?" Minnie asked when she noticed the stapled papers sprawled beside Miyeon.

Miyeon followed her gaze. "Oh, that's my script. It's for a play."

"Oh?" Minnie raised a brow. "You act?"

Miyeon smiled sheepishly. "A bit, yeah. But I'm not as good."

"I see... Can I see your script?"

"Sure!" Miyeon reached for it on her side and handed it straight to Minnie.

Minnie flipped through the pages, her eyes scanning certain lines.

"It's in English... Interesting," The blonde muttered. "Is it an open play?"

_'More like a head-splitting headache,'_ Miyeon thought. She shook her head. "Nope, just a simple class play."

Minnie nodded, feeling a little disappointed that she isn't able to watch the play.

_"I'd rather be in this place with you than anywhere else with another."_

Miyeon's eyeballs almost popped out of her head when Minnie read one of her lines. She read it so casually and not to mention, perfectly. She had an accent far from her peers'. She didn't know which it was exactly, but it sounded _beautiful_.

"Y-You can speak English?"

Minnie faced her and smiled, nodding. "I do."

"You speak so well."

"It's nothing much," Minnie's smile didn't disappear.

Miyeon's instincts would tell her to ask the blonde for the help she'd been needing, but she held herself. They just started their friendship a few days ago. Miyeon wasn't even sure if it was friendship, it could just be closure or for the sake of company on the other's end. She didn't wanna cross the line.

Wanting to get her mind off it, Miyeon decided to shift the subject.

"Do you act as well?" Miyeon asked.

Minnie took a deep breath before answering. "I used to, so not anymore."

Miyeon frowned. Minnie looked like she could make a great actress. "Can I ask why?"

Minnie gave her another one of her smiles. "Nothing special. I just quitted."

Miyeon nodded. There was more to dwell on with her words, but Miyeon figured she shouldn't pry anymore and decided to let the conversation end like that for now.

  
-

  
The entire hour was nothing but awkward. Neither Shuhua nor Soojin initiated a talk. They just sat in their seats, doing whatever they were supposed to do.

They still had about 15 minutes on the clock, and Shuhua contemplated whether she should just dismiss Soojin early or not. She wanted to, but her senses had reminded her not to determine choices with her personal feelings. Soojin's detention wasn't out of one in the first place.

"Done." Was the first word to be said in the room that day, and the next thing Shuhua knew, was Soojin striding to her table and quietly placing the sheets on Shuhua's table.

After that, she went back to her seat, and another awkward silence blossomed. At last, after what felt like an eternity, the hour is finally up. Without even Shuhua cueing Soojin's leave— the blonde stood up and left the room.

Shuhua could still feel the guilt holding her in place. She wasn't used to this new atmosphere, wherein there wasn't a teasing Soojin and a fuming Shuhua, but at the same time, she wished it stayed like this. It made her relive her _superiority_ over the other, which she should've kept grounded on the very first day.

After all, Soojin was someone she's supposed to discipline, not someone who can easily wrap Shuhua around her finger.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i only realized, but thank you so much for the 350+ kudos! i appreciate every single one of yall~
> 
> anyways, i see some tea-shirt *sip* (if you get this joke then cheers to u) anyways, sorry for being slow at updates!! school is taking most of my time. i usually write only when i'm feeling the groove, it just happens that when i am, i'm busy with something. so im very sorry! i cant promise that i'll update earlier from now on, but i'll always try to!
> 
> \+ i know that there isn't too much yuqi and soyeon going on at the moment, but they will have just as much later on in the story!
> 
> question 1: should I publish this story on asianfanfics as well?
> 
> question 2: how am i doing? it's my first time writing a story so I would appreciate feedbacks to better myself TT_TT


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First interaction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a guide in case some of you aren't aware! :D
> 
> won - the official currency of south korea!

Shuhua eyed the clock, specifically at its thinnest arm as it runs closer to instating the hour's end. Once upright, the still figure in front of her stood up, garnering her things to get ready for her leave.

It's been like this for the past three days _—_ they enter the room, sit down, wait for the hour to end, and leave. All that with no sort of interactions, conversations, staring competitions, or whatsoever that the other would usually initiate in between.

Her thinking about it seemed to give off the message that she was, perhaps, sad about the change _—_ No, she wasn't. That wasn't near the case. But was she bothered by it? That, she is. Definitely. A little more than she had imagined.

She's been entrapped in the lingering guilt that she thought would last for the span of a single night, but had instead stuck with her for three whole days. At least she thought that was the reason. She had enough strain to try to find out whichever it was.

She watched quietly as Soojin turned her back and left the room, letting the subtle winds close the door behind her.

Before Shuhua could realize it, a heavy exhale left her mouth, her eyes rolling to the side to feast on the picture of the clouded golden sun.

She had no reason to stay and wait for the guard's last notice, but now that the suffocating tension is gone, she felt slightly more comfortable and chose to just wait for Minnie to knock on the door and ask her to leave.

  
-

  
The next day came and right after the afternoon bell, the friends made their way to the cafeteria.

"You look..." Minnie eyed Shuhua's scrunched face. "happy?"

The younger sent her a look before rolling her eyes off somewhere else. Minnie grinned, Shuhua could just never look so intimidating when sulking.

"What are you pouting like a baby for?"

"Mrs. Kim..." Shuhua huffed out, her lip still drawn out proudly.

"Oh," Minnie tried holding a laugh. She already knows what the whining was about with just the professor's name. "Did she... embarrass you again?

"Yes!" Shuhua gave an enraged reply, turning her head at the blonde in a blink.

"It wasn't even her ruffling my hair anymore, she went as far as pinching my cheeks! In front of my whole class!"

Minnie couldn't help the chuckle she was holding in anymore. She knows how much Shuhua values how students perceive her, and the younger obviously didn't like the idea of her cute side dominating her strict exterior as a member of the council.

"If only you saw my classmates' faces! They were almost making fun of me!"

Minnie diligently listened to Shuhua's whines until they arrived at the academy cafeteria. They settled down at a random table.

"I'm gonna buy myself food. Anything you'd want?" Minnie asked.

Shuhua's glary eyes widened. "Is it for free?"

Minnie rolled her eyes. "Sure, if that'll shut you up,"

The younger's eyes flickered before curving into crescents. "Nice! Rich Minnie is back! I'll have hamburger and cola, please!"

Minnie frowned. "Those, again? Can't you eat something healthier? And please, stop calling me that in public!"

Shuhua shook her head. "Nope, good food is better than body," She proudly claimed.

"No, eat something else!"

"I don't want to! I'm too hungry to think, hurry!" Shuhua said, pushing the latter until she had no choice but to jump off her seat.

"You better order something different next time!"

"So does that mean you'll treat me again?" Shuhua's brows wiggled. Minnie realized.

"Forget it," Minnie gave the other a glare. "I'll be right back." Then she left.

Shuhua waited patiently, her eyes sparkling at the thought of free food. She had completely forgotten about the snickers her classmates gave her when Mrs. Kim squished her cheeks shamelessly when she walked to her podium.

Her eyes wandered around, accidentally meeting familiar faces with whom she ended up exchanging small smiles and waves. She met another one but was quickly cut off when they turned to their side. Their stare lingered, so by reflex, Shuhua followed the non-existent trail of their burning gaze.

Soon enough, she found herself also trapped in a trance.

Seo Soojin had stepped inside the room, with her usual attire and the same old cold, intimidating face.

Shuhua had often wondered how someone could be so unfazed with tens and tens of paired orbs following her. If she was her, she'd most probably lose her cool and have either Yeeun or Minnie step up for her and tell them to put their stares back to where they belong to. Soojin didn't appear to need that.

She watched until the blonde had found a table, which Shuhua guessed as her usual spot because of how effortlessly she found one, and despite the crowd, it stayed empty until she came.

The stares soon dissipated. But Shuhua's stayed for a bit.

Soojin sat alone at her table. If she wasn't mistaken, she looked lonely herself too.

Shuhua snapped out her thoughts and inwardly scolded herself. She's never the type to care for other's business, she had to remind herself.

Maybe she was just waiting for a friend to arrive, if ever she has one.

"I'm back," Shuhua lightly jumped from her seat when Minnie's voice sneaked into her ear from behind.

The Thai placed a tray on their table and sat across her. She immediately grabbed hers and tore the wrapper off.

"Where's my thank you? I managed to snatch one of the last few burgers in there," Minnie showed her a look.

Shuhua grinned, her cheeks puffing out. "Thanks, unnie," She barely managed to say without slurring her words too much.

The two ate their food, talking here and there about any topic their minds could think of. But unintentionally, she'd look to her side to eye a specific table.

Shuhua's forehead started to draw lines. It's been about ten minutes, but Soojin still sat there, alone. She could see how she's been playing with her fingers almost the whole while and stares at whatever's interesting enough beyond the windows. Which Shuhua doubts there is any.

"Hey, kid," Minnie snapped a finger at her face. Shuhua jumped, again. "Are you even listening?"

"Yeah, he was lame for asking you that," Shuhua tried to redeem herself.

"I wasn't even talking about him anymore," Minnie raised a brow.

"Huh?" Shuhua mindlessly responded, lost.

Wanting to see the cause herself, she turned to the direction she saw Shuhua staring intently at and skimmed the area for the best possible head to have gotten her attention.

She saw none other than the very _Seo_.

"Oh wow," Minnie started. "Is this what I think it is?" She continued, wiggling her eyebrows with a sneaky smirk.

"What are you even talking about?" Shuhua replied, her once focused eyes now darting down at her cold burger.

"I saw you,"

"Well, you saw it wrong."

"Really now?" Minnie asked, amused.

"I was staring out the window, and even if I was staring at her, it doesn't mean anything." Shuhua rolled her eyes, shifting her attention at the seemingly interesting wall beside her instead.

"And now you're staring at a piece of cement,"

"Stop bothering me!" Shuhua turned to her with a frown.

"Come on, I won't judge you," Minnie said. As if there's something more into it.

"Do you like her now or something?" Minnie asked plainly, still munching on the food in her mouth.

Shuhua's eyes popped open, her eyebrows meeting in between. "What the fuck? Of course not!" She said. Or shouted, maybe.

"Just kidding," Minnie raised her arms in a way of surrendering.

"Calm down, sheesh. So aggressive." Minnie frowned, sipping her drink and then taking another slice of sushi.

The older didn't seem to be too indulged by it and just shrugged the whole thing off, which Shuhua was thankful for.

It was nearly the end of the break, and one after another, students had started to leave the cafeteria. There were only several tables left occupied. The group of student council members they saw had already gone their way as well.

"Are you done?" Shuhua asked the older.

"Almost," Minnie answered, pointing at a couple of pieces of sushi left on her tray using her pair of chopsticks.

Shuhua gave her a single nod and driven her eyes somewhere else, it eventually landed on where they've been getting pulled ever since they stepped inside.

Soojin was still there, surprisingly. She was still alone. Shuhua continued to watch her from afar, waiting for her to stand up and leave. She did it all while tapping on her cheek on the beat of every second. However, instead of seeing what she had expected the blonde to do, Soojin had instead, turned in her direction.

They met eyes, the blonde must've finally felt the burning gaze that's been on her for the past thirty minutes. And now that there isn't a crowd to hide on anymore, she spotted her effortlessly.

She should be looking away. Soojin's eyes were as cold as the bundles of snow on winter, but they had something in them that made looking away feel so much like a waste. The same goes for the other, Soojin could turn around and eye at the most random thing in the room, but again, Shuhua's pools were so deep that it's hard to get out from them.

They stayed in position for a few seconds, they would've probably lingered for a bit longer if only Minnie didn't call the younger's name.

"Shuhua, you're out of it again," Minnie's frown returned. "Are you okay?" She asked in a concerned tone. Shuhua inhaled sharply, had she been holding her breath just now?

"Y-yeah, sorry about that. I was just in a daze." Shuhua reasoned.

When Minnie's watching eyes weren't on her anymore, she took another peek, only to see Soojin already making her way out of the cafeteria.

"Shit, we have four minutes left." Minnie cursed. She shoved one slice into her mouth and the last one forcefully in Shuhua's.

"What _—_ "

"Let's go!" Minnie mumbled and pulled Shuhua along.

  
-

  
Miyeon practiced alone on a bench. She forgot which foyer she was at, but she'd save the question for later. Later when she finally gets the fucking pronunciations right.

" _Love bears nothing good but foolish sac— but foolish sacri—_ " Miyeon cut her own words with a heavy, shaky breath. The whole foreign language thing was starting to fiddle with her nerves.

She took a few more to remind herself to stay composed and decided to try again.

" _Love bears nothing good but foolish sa— sacrif—_ "

" _Sacrifices_ ," Miyeon turned around to see her Chinese friend, Yuqi.

"I can tell that you're almost at the brink of cursing there," The girl laughed.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be with your club?" Miyeon ignored the comment and asked.

"I was on my way there, but I just happened to hear a Korean girl struggling to pronounce an English word nearby," Yuqi smirked. Miyeon rolled her eyes.

"Just go and let me focus," Miyeon groaned, looking back at her script.

"You know that you can always ask Minhyuk for help, right? He's good at English. I've hosted an event with him before," Yuqi suggested.

"I know, but I don't want to," Miyeon answered.

"Why? Are you shy?"

"Like hell I am," Miyeon glared. "I just don't wanna be a burden. If he'd coach me, he has to for almost every line of my script." Miyeon said.

"I don't think he'll mind," Yuqi said. "Besides, who wouldn't want to get on their knees to help a pretty princess like you?" Yuqi teased, playing with her brows as she acted accordingly to the older's play setting _—_ all royal and princessy. She then bowed and lent a palm like a fine prince.

Miyeon grimaced at the act. That was the least she needed at the moment. "Oh my god, you little piece _—_ you aren't helping at all! Get the fuck out of here already!"

Yuqi's loud laugh filled the foyer, dodging the brunette's swatting hands. She fleed her range and started to walk away. She stuck a tongue out.

"I bet you 10,000 won he'll say that!" She yelled from the end of the hall and disappeared as she quickly turned around.

"Shut up!"

  
-

  
Shuhua sat back down on her seat after giving Soojin her share of papers. Today's detention is the same as the past few days, but with a little bit more awkwardness added to the mix.

Shuhua figured that it had something to do with what happened at the cafeteria. She wouldn't doubt it if it was. After all, that's the first sort of contact they've had in days.

Despite the uncomfortable air around them, the two went to work and managed to finish the papers within the hour.

"Done," Soojin said shortly and gave the papers back. Shuhua hummed, taking it off her hands.

They still had about ten minutes on the clock, and of course, it's spent in silence. Shuhua works faster, that's no doubt. But for today, she pretended to stroke marks on papers still for the remaining while. It's the best distraction her mind had thought of within seconds.

Finally, she saw movement through the corner of her eye.

Once she heard the confirmatory click of the door, Shuhua stopped what she was doing. She heaved a heavy breath and started to pile the divided stack back together.

She still had to return the papers back to the office.

Shuhua pushed herself up from her seat and went to the door. Soojin should've already left the hall by now.

She stepped out and closed the door behind her, but just when she could go on her way, a folded piece of paper on the ground caught her eye.

She bent down, picking it up and unfolding it with one hand. She frowned.

  
**_To SSJ:_ **

_Please meet me in the academy garden tomorrow after school, I have something to tell you._

  
The initials were Soojin's, obviously. Perhaps, on her way out, she might've unintentionally dropped it.

From the cupid on the top right, the red imprinted ribbons, and the awful ton amount of hearts _—_ she's sure that it was from another one of her countless admirers.

Not that Shuhua wanted to assume, but it's basically given that this one would end up just like the others.

Soojin might not even show up, their detentions were scheduled strictly after the last bell, and if Soojin arrives later than ten, she'd have an extension. Shuhua's more than sure she wouldn't want that to happen.

Folding the paper back and slipping it in her blazer's pocket, she made her way to the office.

-

Shuhua neared the academy's gates. Right now, she wanted nothing more than to jump on her bed and fall straight into slumber.

"Shuhua!" A familiar voice made her turn around. She was surprised with the unexpected encounter, but shortly, her lips curved into a smile.

"Hey," She said when he stopped in front of her.

"Hey," Dohyun greeted back with his signature charming smile.

"You're leaving late today," Shuhua started.

"Yeah, well, coach had come up with new offensive positions, he wanted to try it out so we played an extra round." He explained. Shuhua could tell with all the dried sweat. She also got a generous whiff of the strong perfume he used. She nodded.

"Ah, I see. Then you should be tired, I won't keep you for long," Shuhua said, smiling as she took a small step aside.

"But I want to," Dohyun took the same step, placing himself in front of Shuhua again. "We haven't talked yesterday, so I couldn't let this one pass," He smiled again.

"O-Oh..." Shuhua stuttered. She could almost feel herself blushing.

"Let's talk as we walk?" Dohyun asked.

"Sure," Shuhua replied, smiling back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello! im back again with a reaaaallly late update. im sorry to have kept you waiting! we're nearing a quarter's end and i had to study for my upcoming exams and also work on some homeworks! i hope you understand :>
> 
> it's crazy how this story had about 350+ kudos on its eighth chapter and now that we're on ninth, it stepped up to 440+! that's almost a hundred kudos in one chapter! :(( thank you so much i appreciate it a lot! i'll keep on doing my best~
> 
> Q: i've been thinking about making a stan twitter account, should i make one?
> 
> i'd always appreciate feedbacks and tips on how to better my writing! so if you want to, you can leave a comment! tysm <3

**Author's Note:**

> What do you think about the story so far?


End file.
